Who Should I Start? DeAndre Hopkins or Dont'e Thornton Jr.

Friday, July 25, 3:38 PM

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (undisclosed) was back in action on Friday after missing the team's Thursday practice with an undisclosed ailment, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said previously that Hopkins was held out as a precaution, and that appears to be the truth. The 33-year-old Hopkins is likely someone who Baltimore will be judicious with in terms of practice workload anyway, so a single-day absence early in camp shouldn't be considered highly worrisome. Hopkins recorded 56 catches for 610 yards and five touchdowns in 16 games split between the Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs in 2024. He's more of a supporting piece at this point in his career, but he'll be in the mix with Rashod Bateman as a secondary target option at receiver for Baltimore behind Zay Flowers. The Ravens also have talented tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, so Hopkins could be looking at an even further reduced workload from what he saw last season.

Wednesday, July 23, 8:30 PM

Las Vegas Raiders rookie wide receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr. continued to get first-team reps when the offense was in 11 personnel at training camp practice on Wednesday, according to Ryan McFadden of ESPN. Quarterback Geno Smith did throw a deep ball to Thornton, but it was broken up. Thornton, not second-rounder Jack Bech, has been getting reps with the first-team offense since the spring, so he could be a valuable deep threat with his speed for Smith in his first year in the NFL. Jakobi Meyers is the Raiders' WR1 entering the season, so there is plenty of opportunity for Thornton if he continues to impress the coaching staff and gain chemistry with Smith. Tre Tucker will be Thornton's primary competition for targets. At best, Thornton might be a boom/bust flex option for fantasy managers in deeper formats.