Who Should I Start? Christian Kirk or Marvin Mims Jr.

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.

Saturday, January 24, 7:40 PM

Denver Broncos wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. is coming off his best performance of the season, after leading the team with eight receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown in last Sunday's overtime win over the Bills. If the Broncos and backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham are to have any success moving the ball against an attacking Patriots defense, Mims may once again be tasked with carrying a heavy workload. Patriots cornerbacks Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis III match up well on paper against the bigger bodies of Courtland Sutton and Pat Bryant, so it could fall on the smaller, quicker Mims to provide an intermediate outlet for Stidham if New England continues to send extra bodies in the pass rush. Mims is RotoBaller's WR8 for the Conference Championship Round of playoff fantasy leagues, but he could be more valuable in Full-PPR formats.