Who Should I Start? Christian Kirk or Rashid Shaheed

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, 8:00 PM

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Rashid Shaheed was largely responsible for putting last week's Divisional Round rubber match with the 49ers out of hand from the jump, returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown in a game that was never close. The play marked Shaheed's third special teams score since being acquired from the New Orleans Saints via a mid-season trade, but his impact has been felt less on offense. After playing his first half of the season in New Orleans on a 17-game pace of 83 receptions for 943 yards and four touchdowns, that pace has fallen drastically to 26 catches for 320 yards and zero receiving touchdowns since his trade to Seattle. Over the past four games, he's caught two passes for ten yards. Even against a Los Angeles defense that has been beatable through the air, Shaheed carries very little value outside of fantasy playoff leagues that reward return yards and touchdowns.