Who Should I Start? Devaughn Vele or Isaiah Bond

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.

Saturday, December 27, 9:31 AM

Cleveland Browns rookie wide receiver Isaiah Bond has taken over as the team's WR2, even though the Week 16 box score against the Buffalo Bills did not show it, and is likely to continue his ascension in Week 17 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Browns' passing attack struggled to get anything going against the Buffalo Bills last week. However, the team tried to get Bond involved via a trick play for 21 yards on the Browns' opening drive. The young rookie appears to be part of the Browns' offensive game plan, averaging 45% snaps and 58% route participation since Week 12, edging out fellow wide receiver Cedric Tillman for playtime. Bond offers big-play potential and, with rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders as the starter, he is carving out his niche as a vertical threat. Sanders' preferred target, rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. (groin), popped up on the injury report Friday, and he is pushing to play on Sunday. However, if Fannin Jr. does miss time, Bond would be in line to benefit from additional looks against a tough Steelers' pass defense. Bond is an extremely risky start with big-play potential and is best suited for DFS dart throws or desperate deep-league managers looking for volatility.