Who Should I Start? DeAndre Hopkins or Brandin Cooks

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.

Saturday, September 6, 11:01 AM

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks returns to the Big Easy after previously playing with the team from 2014-2016. Last year in Dallas, he caught 26 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns in 10 games. Cooks was named one of eight team captains ahead of Week 1 against the Cardinals and is listed as a starter. However, he'll have to compete with Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and star running back Alvin Kamara for targets while second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler is under center. For fantasy purposes, Cooks should be off radars, with only slight appeal if any of the primary pass-catchers miss time.