Who Should I Start? Deebo Samuel Sr. or DeVonta Smith

Sunday, December 14, 11:33 AM

Washington Commanders wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. (illness) is officially active for Sunday's Week 15 contest against the New York Giants. He had been listed as questionable after missing Friday's practice. Samuel has played in 12 games this year, amassing 62 catches, 561 receiving yards, and five receiving touchdowns. He filled in admirably as one of Washington's top targets with Terry McLaurin sidelined. Although McLaurin is back, the Commanders lost Zach Ertz (knee) to a season-ending ACL tear last week, which means Samuel should earn more targets where he excels most: in the short to intermediate passing game. The 29-year-old ranks as a low-end fantasy WR2 and should remain involved while catching passes from Marcus Mariota on Sunday.

Saturday, December 13, 12:40 PM

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith is coming off of back-to-back weeks where his production didn't quite meet expectations. It's not due to a lack of looks-Smith is averaging nine targets per game since Week 12-the issue is more because of his yardage. Over the same three-game span, he's averaging just 6.4 yards per target. For comparison, his counterpart A.J. Brown has averaged 9.8 during that time. However, Smith does have a favorable matchup this Sunday against the Raiders. Las Vegas gives up the third-most fantasy points to wideouts this season, and the Eagles should have little trouble putting this team away in what feels like a must-win game. Smith isn't the most comfortable option for fantasy playoffs, but he's done enough to be slotted as a decent WR3/FLEX in Week 15.