Who Should I Start? Deebo Samuel or Drake Maye

Saturday, November 23, 1:28 AM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. will line up across from the Packers in Green Bay on Sunday. In one of his most disappointing fantasy performances of the year, the dual-threat weapon was held to 4.1 half-PPR points in last week's home loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Looking ahead things don't look too promising. The Packers have been the 12th-toughest matchup for opposing wide receivers, and the 49ers will be without quarterback Brock Purdy (shoulder) and potentially All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams, who is questionable with an ankle injury. It's possible that Samuel Sr. could find rapport with backup QB Brandon Allen at Lambeau Field, but the slump-breaking performance that fantasy managers have been waiting for since Week 6 is less likely now. At least tight end George Kittle (hamstring) is back, hopefully taking some defensive focus off Samuel Sr. between the hash marks. Given the uncertainty regarding San Francisco's offensive efficiency in Week 12, consider Samuel Sr. a mid-range WR2.

Friday, November 22, 9:59 AM

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye remains a low-end QB1 option heading into Week 12 against the Miami Dolphins. Outside of an elevated turnover rate, Maye has been everything the Patriots hoped he would be so far. The No. 3 overall pick has been a top-14 fantasy quarterback in three of his six starts, and he has finished within the top 18 in each of the five games that he's played in full. He threw for a career-high 282 yards and two touchdowns last week, and he has continued to produce solid rushing production in each of his appearances so far. This week, he faces the Dolphins, who have statistically fared well against opposing quarterbacks this year, but some of those numbers are skewed from when Tua Tagovailoa was sidelined and opposing teams were able to adopt a run-heavy approach against Miami. Between Weeks 9 and 10, they surrendered a total of 528 passing yards and three touchdowns to opposing signal-callers. If Maye can exceed 250 yards and tally a couple of scores, he'll crack the top 12 for fantasy quarterbacks.