Who Should I Start? Devaughn Vele or Dont'e Thornton Jr.

Friday, December 19, 2:45 PM

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Devaughn Vele (shoulder) has been placed on injured reserve, ending his season before the team's Week 16 matchup with the Jets. Vele suffered the season-ending shoulder injury during the fourth quarter of a Week 15 win over the Panthers and had already been ruled out for Sunday. Vele had established a strong rapport with rookie quarterback Tyler Shough, regularly seeing target shares in the high-teens to mid-20s, and his absence should see tight end Juwan Johnson step in as the team's number two pass-catching option behind Chris Olave. Olave, who has seen double-digit targets only once since Shough took over as starter, but has found the endzone in three of his last five games, could once again see the type of heavy volume that defined his early season and is RotoBaller's WR11 for Week 16.

Friday, December 12, 9:24 PM

Las Vegas Raiders rookie wide receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr. (concussion) won't carry an injury designation into Sunday's Week 15 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. Thornton was limited in practice to begin the week, but has been cleared to suit up after two straight full practice sessions. He's back in the mix after sitting out due to a concussion during last week's loss to the Denver Broncos. When healthy, Thornton is unlikely to be a significant contributor in what has been a bad Raiders offense. The 23-year-old has only eight receptions for 123 yards in 11 games this season. Fantasy managers should look elsewhere for help ahead of Vegas' tough road matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.