Who Should I Start? George Pickens or Kayshon Boutte

Friday, December 12, 7:47 PM

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens is coming off one of the worst showings of his breakout season, but he is still worth viewing as a WR1 in all formats when he faces the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night. Last Thursday, Pickens brought in just five of his nine targets for a mere 37 yards. This was his lowest total since Week 1, when he tallied only 30 yards on three receptions. His production last week was quite disappointing as the team's No. 1 WR, CeeDee Lamb, exited with a concussion. Still, Pickens was unable to connect with quarterback Dak Prescott. However, managers should continue to view Pickens as a must-start option as he enters Week 15 as the overall WR2 in PPR scoring despite his Week 14 dud. During Weeks 11 through 13, Pickens averaged an elite 24.6 PPR points per game and totaled 126 yards per game with two receiving scores. Overall, Pickens has found the back of the end zone eight times, which is the same number of times he found the end zone as a Steeler during the 2023 and 2024 seasons combined. Despite facing an elite Minnesota secondary that enters the fantasy playoffs allowing the fewest PPR points to opposing WRs, and Lamb cleared for action, Pickens still carries immense upside in all formats and is a must-start WR1 in all league types.

Friday, December 12, 11:00 PM

New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte continues to handle a large volume of snaps, but it has resulted in inconsistent production thus far. He has six games with single-digit fantasy points in PPR leagues, and five games with double-digit points. His results have been somewhat unpredictable, but he faces an uphill battle to produce in Week 15 against a solid Buffalo Bills defense. The Bills have allowed the sixth-fewest fantasy points to perimeter wide receivers in 2025, which limits Boutte's fantasy upside since he has played more than 90% of his snaps out wide. In his last outing against the Bills, he was held to a modest three catches for 43 yards. The 23-year-old is headed for a tough matchup this week and could quite possibly be outperformed by both Stefon Diggs and Hunter Henry in the passing game. As a result, Boutte is the overall WR40 in this week's RotoBaller fantasy rankings, which means that he can be benched in most formats.