Who Should I Start? Christian Kirk or Rome Odunze

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.

Monday, January 19, 2:24 PM

Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze (foot) reiterated that he will not need offseason surgery on his foot, according to Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times. Odunze had a stress fracture in his foot that caused him to miss the final five games of the regular season. He returned for Chicago's two playoff games to catch exactly two passes for 44 yards in both contests. The 23-year-old second-year wideout was a popular breakout candidate in fantasy going into the 2025 season, and he was well on his way to fulfilling that with five touchdown catches in the first four games. However, Odunze quickly cooled off and scored only one more time in his final 10 games. His foot injury likely had something to do with that. Odunze will look to bounce back in 2026 with better health, but his fantasy ceiling could be capped with the emergence of young receiver Luther Burden III and tight end Colston Loveland.