Who Should I Start? Ihmir Smith-Marsette or Darius Cooper

Saturday, August 24, 9:36 PM

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette (ankle) left the team's preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills early on Saturday after landing awkwardly completing a catch in the second quarter. The 24-year-old hauled in 2-of-3 targets for 11 yards while contributing 27 yards on two punt returns and a field-flipping 46 yards on his lone kick return. Smith-Marsette was productive before he picked up the injury and is expected to be the team's returner this upcoming season. Barring the severity of his ankle issue, that could still be the case. It's a bit early to tell how impactful the NFL's new kickoff rules will be come the start of the regular season. However, fantasy managers may want to keep the Iowa product on their radar as a sneaky option, depending on how your league values return yards. His Yahoo! ADP is far down enough that he'd be best suited as a prospective waiver-wire add.

Friday, November 21, 10:18 PM

Philadelphia Eagles rookie wide receiver Darius Cooper last week logged his lowest snap count since returning from injury, getting on the field for just three plays against the Detroit Lions. Now past the halfway mark of the season, it's seeming more and more likely that Cooper will not see any catches before the 2025 campaign has ended. Even when the receivers above him on the depth chart have been sidelined or had rough games, Cooper has not gotten his opportunities. He should continue to be left off of fantasy rosters as Philly faces the Cowboys this weekend.