Who Should I Start? Christian Kirk or Jameson Williams

Wednesday, July 9, 3:34 PM

Houston Texans wide receiver Christian Kirk was dealt from the division rival Jacksonville Jaguars for a late-round NFL Draft pick this offseason. The 28-year-old had a fantastic first season with Jacksonville in 2022, but injuries and offensive woes limited his production in 2023 and 2024. Last year, he tallied just 27 receptions for 379 yards and one score in eight games while Brian Thomas Jr. took over the WR1 role. Now in Houston, he is seemingly competing with rookies Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel for the WR2 job behind Nico Collins. ESPN's DJ Bien-Aime believes Kirk might be the favorite to win that job. "The best way to step into the No. 2 or No. 3 role is building chemistry with CJ.. Stroud," Bien-Aime wrote. "And Kirk looked like a potential safety blanket for the third-year signal-caller." While this is promising for Kirk's fantasy prospects, the veteran has eclipsed 800 yards in just two of his seven NFL campaigns, and Houston's acquisitions of Higgins and Noel could suggest they were not comfortable with Kirk in the clear WR2 role. That said, his cost in drafts outside the top 50 WRs makes him an interesting dart throw in all formats.

Thursday, July 24, 7:06 PM

Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams has noticed new offensive coordinator John Morton's aggressiveness in his approach to taking deep shots down the field, and it's one of the major areas that Williams thinks he has improved since a year ago, writes ESPN's Eric Woodyard. "My route running -- coach Johnny Mo is letting me run more routes," Williams said. "I knew I could run more routes, but he's putting me in position to run more routes so I'm getting better with cuts and angles and how to run this route and that route, so I would say I'm more polished in my route game." There is a lot of pressure on Morton after Detroit's offense averaged 29 points per game over the last three seasons under Ben Johnson, who is now in Chicago. Williams broke out in 2024, but there are a lot of mouth to feed in this offense, making him a boom/bust WR2/3 target in fantasy.