Who Should I Start? Christian Kirk or Rome Odunze

Tuesday, January 13, 11:19 AM

Out of nowhere, Houston Texans wide receiver Christian Kirk had a breakout game in the 30-6 blowout win over the hosting Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild-Card round on Monday night. Kirk, who disappointed with only 28 catches for 239 yards and one touchdown on 52 targets in 13 games during the regular season in his first year with the team, caught eight of his nine targets for a season-high 144 yards and one touchdown to help send the Texans to the Divisional Round this weekend against the New England Patriots. It helped the 29-year-old's cause when top wideout Nico Collins left with a concussion in the second half and never returned. Fantasy managers probably shouldn't expect a repeat performance for Kirk against New England, but he'll definitely see more targets this weekend if Collins is unable to clear the league's concussion protocol.

Saturday, January 10, 12:50 PM

Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze missed the final five games of the regular season due to a stress fracture in his foot. However, the 23-year-old is off the injury report and will play in his team's Wild Card Weekend matchup against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night. Across 12 games before getting injured, Odunze recorded 44 receptions for 661 yards and six touchdowns on 90 targets. He recorded three or fewer catches in four out of his last five games played, although he still averaged 6.8 targets per game during that stretch. It's difficult to project how involved Odunze will be in the Chicago passing game coming off the long layoff, particularly with Bears rookie wideout Luther Burden III emerging during Odunze's absence. The Packers also had one of the NFL's better pass defenses during the regular season, ranking sixth among all units in yards per pass attempt allowed (6.4). Given the injury uncertainty and the matchup, Odunze profiles as a difficult player for fantasy managers to trust in the Wild Card round.