Who Should I Start? Curtis Samuel or Dont'e Thornton Jr.

Monday, October 13, 6:21 PM

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Curtis Samuel (neck, ribs) is officially inactive for the Monday night contest on the road against the Atlanta Falcons, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. In addition to Samuel, the Bills' offense will be missing tight end Dalton Kincaid (oblique) against what has been a much-improved Atlanta defense so far in 2025. The 29-year-old Samuel hasn't been on the fantasy radar to begin with, but his absence on Monday means less depth in the wideout corps for Buffalo behind Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, and Joshua Palmer. The Bills have their bye coming in Week 7, so hopefully Samuel will be ready to go for a Week 8 contest against the Carolina Panthers. Samuel has only been active for two games so far in 2025 and has caught three of his four targets for 35 yards and one touchdown. He had just one TD in 14 games a year ago for Buffalo and should remain on the waiver wire.

Tuesday, October 21, 9:11 PM

Las Vegas Raiders rookie wide receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr. has largely been phased out of the team's offense in recent weeks. Thornton Jr. has recorded five catches for 94 yards on 19 targets across seven games this season. However, he has been held without a reception in each of his last four games played. For the time being, Thornton Jr. appears to be firmly behind Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker, and Jack Bech on the wide receiver depth chart in Las Vegas. That could change in the coming weeks, as Meyers has reportedly been seeking a trade away from the 2-5 Raiders. With Meyers (knee, toe) inactive in Week 7 due to injury, Thornton Jr. played a season-high 86% of the team's offensive snaps. Even if Meyers is traded, Thornton Jr. will be tough for fantasy managers to trust given his lack of production so far. Still, he's a name to monitor in deeper leagues if the Raiders deal Meyers at some point before the NFL trade deadline.