Who Should I Start? DeAndre Hopkins or Allen Lazard

Saturday, September 13, 7:47 AM

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins proved why he's a three-time All-Pro with an amazing one-handed grab against the Buffalo Bills for a touchdown. While his days of 100+ targets per season are in the rearview mirror, he can still play that outlet role whenever called upon. The biggest issue for fantasy managers is that it's nearly impossible to predict which games he'll be more involved in compared to the others. In Week 2, he'll go up against the Cleveland Browns, who do have a better and more aggressive defensive unit. Hopkins might be viable in very deep leagues, but he likely won't receive more targets than Mark Andrews again, which would leave him around fourth in the target pecking order. So managers in 12-team leagues can safely leave him on the bench.

Sunday, September 7, 12:39 PM

New York Jets wide receiver Allen Lazard is a healthy scratch for the Week 1 regular-season opener on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. With Davante Adams departing for the Los Angeles Rams in the offseason, Lazard was expected to be a starter behind Garrett Wilson in 2025, but that doesn't appear to be the case early on. The 29-year-old was a major disappointment in 2023 after signing a four-year, $44 million deal but bounced back slightly last year by catching 37 passes for 530 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games. Josh Reynolds has secured WR2 duties in New York with a strong training camp and preseason, and with Lazard being a healthy scratch in Week 1, it looks like Tyler Johnson will get first crack at WR3 duties in what is expected to be a run-heavy offense under first-year head coach Aaron Glenn.