Who Should I Start? DeAndre Hopkins or Ricky Pearsall

Tuesday, December 24, 2:25 PM

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins will face the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17. Hopkins put forth a lackluster performance last week, catching four passes for 37 yards against the Texans. The 32-year-old looked like a solid fantasy asset after his acquisition at the trade deadline, but his production has since fallen off. With the Kansas City offense running through rookie Xavier Worthy, Hopkins has seen his target volume and production dip the last two weeks. Hopkins will hope to find the endzone against the Steelers, who rank ninth in fantasy points allowed to opposing wide receivers this season. Hopkins is ranked WR42 in our RotoBaller Half-PPR rankings, making him a flex option this week. Fantasy managers will have a difficult time starting Hopkins in the fantasy playoffs as he no longer seems like a focal point of the offense.

Monday, December 23, 12:49 AM

San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was marginally involved during a 29-17 loss to the Dolphins in Miami on Sunday. The first-round pick caught all four of his targets for 37 yards. After missing the early part of the year due to a gunshot wound, Pearsall's production escalated each game from Week 7 to Week 10, culminating in a 17.3 half-PPR performance at Tampa Bay. Any fantasy optimism quickly fizzled out though, as Pearsall then recorded three straight goose eggs. Sunday's modest performance was the most productive Pearsall has been since the aforementioned Bucs game. The 49ers will almost certainly need to make full use of their passing attack in Week 17 when the Detroit Lions bring an elite offense to Levi's Stadium, but Pearsall will be nothing more than a deep-league prayer, barring an injury ahead of him.