Who Should I Start? Deebo Samuel Sr. or Justin Jefferson

Wednesday, October 15, 7:48 PM

Washington Commanders wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. (heel) continues to deal with a nagging heel injury and was listed as a non-participant at the first practice of the week on Wednesday. Samuel missed a couple of practices last week as well and was listed as questionable, but he played through his heel injury in Monday night's loss to the Chicago Bears. The 29-year-old was noticeably quiet, though, catching four passes for only 15 yards while playing 70% of the offensive snaps. It remains to be seen if his troublesome heel will slow him down again in Week 7 against the division-rival Dallas Cowboys, but as long as he's active, Samuel should be in starting fantasy lineups in a strong matchup. However, Samuel's fantasy ceiling will be lowered if Terry McLaurin (quadriceps) returns this weekend from a three-game absence. Samuel's status for the rest of the week also bears watching closely.

Tuesday, October 7, 2:11 PM

The Minnesota Vikings are on a bye in Week 6, but their return to the field could have fantasy implications for wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy (ankle) has not played since Week 2, but the team is targeting Week 7 against the Philadelphia Eagles as his projected return. Jefferson drew 6.5 targets in two games with McCarthy compared to 9.7 with backup Carson Wentz, though Minnesota has been much more intentional about getting their star wideout the ball in the past two weeks, throwing his way a robust 22 times. Despite Minnesota facing tons of injury issues on the offensive line and both opponents surely game-planning for Jefferson to be heavily featured, he still put up 100-yard efforts in both games. Among fantasy receivers, Jefferson is about as QB-proof as there is, but McCarthy's return still will be a variable worth monitoring.