Who Should I Start? Hunter Renfrow or Tyquan Thornton

Sunday, September 7, 7:51 AM

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Hunter Renfrow has an opportunity to be a factor in Week 1, but many uncertainties surrounding his situation makes him difficult to start right away against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The 29-year-old missed all of 2024 with ulcerative colitis and was initially waived by Carolina, who signed him to the active roster only after dealing Adam Thielen to Minnesota and placing Jalen Coker (quadriceps) on IR. That places Renfrow as Carolina's projected top option in the slot, where he did most of his damage during his stint with the then-Oakland Raiders. The veteran has a 103-catch season to his name, but that was four years ago at this point. For now, Renfrow is mostly a DFS home-run swing or a stash in deeper dynasty formats.

Saturday, September 6, 9:09 AM

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyquan Thornton was given a larger opportunity on Friday evening during their contest against the Chargers, following the injury to top wideout Xavier Worthy. Worthy suffered a shoulder injury in the opening quarter, which paved the way for Thornton to have a significant role in the season opener. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes looked his way four times, but he was only able to bring in two of them for 41 yards. His longest catch of the evening came on a 38-yard pass. While Mahomes looked his way downfield, Thornton was unable to connect consistently. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor Worthy's status, as Thornton could emerge as the team's primary deep threat if he were to miss an extended period of time. However, he will be tough to trust in most formats as he will likely slot in as the No. 3 WR in the offense, behind Marquise Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster.