Who Should I Start? Geno Smith or Lamar Jackson

Monday, December 15, 2:59 PM

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (shoulder, back) has a chance to return to practice this week and play in the team's Week 16 game against the Texans, according to head coach Pete Carroll. Smith was unable to practice in any capacity leading up to the Raiders' Week 15 contest with the Eagles and was officially ruled out on Saturday, leaving Kenny Pickett to make his first start for Las Vegas. Pickett was unable to throw for even 65 yards in the shutout loss to the Eagles, rendering all Raiders players unusable for fantasy. Carroll noted that the team will know more about Smith's status on Wednesday. Whether or not he's able to suit up carries major fantasy implications for managers who were able to slip into the semifinals with Brock Bowers or Ashton Jeanty and are now wondering if they'll need to make the difficult decision to leave them on the bench.

Saturday, December 13, 10:42 AM

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson finally gave fantasy managers a bit of a bounce back against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14. He finished as the QB6 after failing to finish any better than the QB14 in each of the four weeks before that. Jackson even had a rushing touchdown last week, which was his first score on the ground since Week 1. In Week 15, he'll take on the Cincinnati Bengals again, after a huge disappointment against them in Week 13. The Bengals' defense still ranks 30th against opposing quarterbacks in fantasy, and they're even 30th over the last two weeks despite holding Jackson to under double-digit fantasy points. Jackson's talent is undeniable, but a weak offensive line and seemingly some injury issues have hampered his ceiling. With that being said, he still has mid-level QB1 potential against a weak defense.