Who Should I Start? Demarcus Robinson or Jalen Coker

Saturday, October 11, 6:16 AM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Demarcus Robinson's three catches for 39 yards in Week 5 belied his utilization in the team's 26-23 win over the Rams. Robinson saw seven targets and ran 39 routes, one more than the game's leading receiver, Kendrick Bourne. Ricky Pearsall (knee) and Jauan Jennings (ankle, ribs) were both absent from that contest due to injuries, which pushed Robinson up the depth chart in his second game of the season. Pearsall has already been declared out for Week 6, and Jennings is listed as questionable. If Jennings joins Pearsall on the shelf, then Robinson would see another game of heavy use and with it the opportunity for greater production than he put up last Thursday. Robinson lies outside WR5 territory but would be upgraded if Jennings is scratched and quarterback Mac Jones' (knee, oblique) own injuries don't prevent him from starting.

Monday, October 13, 3:07 PM

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales said that wide receiver Jalen Coker (quadriceps) is "really close" to returning, according to Joe Person of The Athletic. The Panthers opened Coker's 21-day practice window last week, and he was actually practicing in full, but they held him out of the Week 6 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Coker suffered a serious quad injury in late August in training camp and opened the 2025 campaign on Injured Reserve. If he doesn't suffer a setback at practice this week, it seems there's a good chance he'll officially be activated to make his season debut in Week 7 against the New York Jets. The 23-year-old second-year wideout should be scooped off waivers now if you need WR depth. The Panthers haven't really had anyone step up as a bona fide No. 2 behind rookie Tetairoa McMillan this year. Coker was very productive down the stretch last year and finished with 32 catches for 478 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games (four starts).