Who Should I Start? DeVonta Smith or Jordan Mason

Friday, December 5, 10:18 PM

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith failed to impress last week against the Bears, finishing with a mediocre five catches for 48 yards on eight targets. He and A.J. Brown both racked up a hefty majority of looks from Jalen Hurts, but while Brown turned those into a dominant showing, Smith fell behind on the stat sheet. Another problem is that Smith has now matched his longest scoreless streak of the season, going three straight games without finding the end zone. In Week 14 he's up against a Chargers defense allowing just 168.3 passing yards per game-good for second-best in the league. Philly already totes a lackluster passing game-averaging 196.3 yards per game-so there may not be enough to go around for Smith and Brown, not to mention the other weapons on the Eagles offense. It's a scary week to rely on him, so Smith should hover around a low-end WR2/FLEX spot versus Los Angeles.

Saturday, December 6, 12:41 AM

Minnesota Vikings running back Jordan Mason has been working firmly behind Aaron Jones Sr. (shoulder) in the team's backfield over the past month. Since Jones returned in Week 8 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Mason has played 37.1% of the snaps to Jones' 56.5%. Over that span, Jones has handled 71 total touches, while Mason has 42. The former San Francisco 49er has at least earned extra work closer to the end zone, handling seven carries compared to Jones with only four, and they've each found the end zone once. Jones was removed from the injury report on Friday and will suit up against the Washington Commanders on Sunday. Minnesota's weapons have been limited recently by the poor combination of QBs J.J. McCarthy and Max Brosmer, with all of them being tough to trust for fantasy purposes right now. The gauntlet of tough defenses faced in recent games hasn't helped, but it should get better in Week 14 against a banged-up Commanders unit Mason projects as a low-end RB3 for Sunday in a more favorable matchup.