Who Should I Start? Christian Kirk or Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Wednesday, May 22, 1:41 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk (groin), who missed the final five games of last season with a groin injury, said he's feeling good and healthy this spring during organized team activities. The Jaguars receiving room lost Calvin Ridley and Zay Jones this offseason but added Gabe Davis via free agency and took Brian Thomas in the first round of the NFL draft. Especially with Ridley out of the picture in 2024, the 27-year-old Kirk is the team's most experienced pass-catcher who should be the favorite to be quarterback Trevor Lawrence's most trusted target. Before getting hurt last year, the former second-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2018 out of Texas A&M had 57 catches (85 targets) for 787 yards and three touchdowns in 12 starts. In his first year with Jacksonville, Kirk had a career-high 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns.

Saturday, June 15, 3:04 PM

Seattle Seahawks second-year wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is an obvious breakout candidate in his sophomore season despite being in a receiving corps that still has DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett and in an offense that figures to lean more on the running game than new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb did at the University of Washington. In his first year in the league in 2023, Smith-Njigba had 63 catches for 628 yards and four touchdowns in 17 games. No player stood out more than JSN during spring workouts and minicamp, although Metcalf and Lockett weren't always on the field with him. He was downright dominant at times, though, and head coach Mike Macdonald said "we're expecting big things out of him." The 22-year-old has his fantasy ceiling capped as long as Metcalf and Lockett are healthy, but fantasy managers still shouldn't mind rostering him as a WR4/flex.