Who Should I Start? Curtis Samuel or Terry McLaurin

Sunday, September 14, 12:04 PM

Buffalo Bills veteran wide receiver Curtis Samuel is once again a healthy inactive for Sunday's Week 2 divisional contest on the road against the New York Jets. Samuel was also a healthy scratch for the season-opening win over the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday night. Right now, the 29-year-old is buried on Buffalo's receiver depth chart, thanks to the offseason additions of Joshua Palmer and Elijah Moore. Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, and Tyrell Shavers are also ahead of him. Samuel should remain on the waiver wire in all fantasy formats for now. In his first year with Buffalo in 2024, he caught 31 of his 46 targets for 253 yards and only one touchdown in 14 regular-season games (two starts).

Wednesday, September 10, 4:01 PM

Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin was slow out of the gate in Week 1 against the Giants, catching two of his four targets for 27 yards. A slow start to the season could have been somewhat expected for McLaurin after limited practice time amidst his contract negotiations. The talk of a slow start could have been mitigated if he and Jayden Daniels were able to connect on a deep shot where McLaurin had his man beat badly on a double move. With the new acquisition, Deebo Samuel Sr. making his team debut, play caller Kliff Kingsbury made an emphasis to get Samuel involved, and he has established a good connection with Daniels after McLaurin missed a lot of time in training camp. A positive, at least for McLaurin, is that he did not face any restrictions regarding his snap count and routes. The star receiver started slow last season as he built rapport with Daniels, and should be expected to bounce back against an exploitable Green Bay secondary. McLaurin has faced the Packers three times in his career and has put up strong numbers, catching 16 of 27 targets for 252 yards and three touchdowns. He should be viewed as a mid-range WR2 with upside in a projected high-scoring Week 2 matchup against the Packers.