Who Should I Start? Courtland Sutton or Rashod Bateman

Friday, December 26, 3:13 PM

Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton struggled in the 20-13 win against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 17. Coming off two back-to-back WR1 consensus outings, Sutton was held to four catches on 10 targets for 40 yards and zero touchdowns as the Chiefs' defense keyed on restricting the passing game. Sutton did lead the team in receiving yards and targets, but the lone passing touchdown from quarterback Bo Nix went to rookie running back RJ Harvey to win them the game in the final minutes. While this outing was a disappointment for fantasy managers who started Sutton in Week 17, his performance still allowed him to surpass 1,000 yards receiving for the second straight season. The Broncos will face the Los Angeles Chargers at home in Week 18.

Thursday, January 1, 1:57 PM

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman (illness) missed his second straight day of practice this week on Thursday with an illness, according to Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Sun. Bateman will probably have to return to practice on Friday to avoid being ruled out for the Week 18 regular-season finale against the division-rival Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night in a game that will decide the AFC North. For fantasy football purposes, the 26-year-old Bateman can be ignored either way, as the former first-rounder has been very quiet after a career year in 2024. He enters Week 18 action with just 19 receptions for 224 yards and two touchdowns on 38 targets in his fifth year in the NFL. Bateman has more than two catches in a game only once this year, and that was all the way back on Sept. 22, when he had five grabs for 63 yards and a touchdown against the Detroit Lions.