Who Should I Start? DeAndre Hopkins or Elic Ayomanor

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.

Friday, August 15, 5:53 PM

Tennessee Titans rookie fourth-round wide receiver Elic Ayomanor has "emerged as one of the top target-getters in the Titans offense this camp," according to Easton Freeze of A to Z Sports. Calvin Ridley and Tyler Lockett are among those expectd to sit out of the second preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons on Friday, so Ayomanor and fellow rookie Chimere Dike should see plenty of work alongside rookie quarterback Cameron Ward. The 22-year-old failed to corral either of his two targets in the preseason opener last weekend versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he is slowly solidying a key role in the Titans' passing attack in his first year in the NFL. Ridley is the unquestioned WR1 in this offense, but it's entirely possible that Ayomanor leapfrogs Lockett at some point as the WR2. Ayomanor is outside RotoBaller's top 100 wideouts right now.