Who Should I Start? Christian Kirk or Deebo Samuel Sr.

Friday, January 16, 3:12 PM

Houston Texans wide receiver Christian Kirk posted an underwhelming regular season in his first year with the team, recording 28 receptions for 239 yards and a touchdown on 52 targets across 13 games played. However, the 29-year-old broke out with a dominant performance in Houston's Wild Card Weekend win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, hauling in eight catches for 144 yards and a touchdown on nine targets. With star Texans wideout Nico Collins (concussion) exiting the game in the second half after suffering a concussion, Kirk stepped into a more prominent role in his team's offense. Collins has not practiced this week and is reportedly trending towards missing Houston's Divisional Round matchup against the New England Patriots. As a result, Kirk could see another week as the primary target-earner from Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud. If Collins is ruled out, fantasy managers should view Kirk as the top wide receiver option in Houston for the Divisional Round.

Thursday, February 12, 7:35 AM

Washington Commanders wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. continued to deliver decent contributions in the passing game last season, which was his first with the team. He finished the year with 72 catches, 727 receiving yards, and five receiving touchdowns, his highest marks in those categories since 2021. He also rushed for 75 yards and an additional touchdown on the ground. Although it was a good but not great year by Samuel's standards, he still finished as the overall WR25 in full-PPR leagues, cementing himself as a low-end WR2 or high-end WR3/flex on a weekly basis. Samuel restructured his contract with the Commanders to become a free agent this offseason, so he'll hit the open market in March. A return to Washington seems possible, but he'll presumably explore all of his options before putting pen to paper. Samuel fits best on a team with an established No. 1 wide receiver, so that he can operate as the No. 2 receiver with contributions as a gadget-type player behind the line of scrimmage or in the short-to-medium passing game. His 2026 fantasy outlook will depend on his landing spot and his eventual quarterback pairing, but for now, we'd expect him to remain a top-30 fantasy receiver.