Who Should I Start? Ihmir Smith-Marsette or Johnny Wilson

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.

Thursday, August 21, 1:42 PM

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Johnny Wilson (knee, ankle) will undergo surgery on his knee and ankle and miss the entire 2025 season, according to Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Wilson suffered the injuries in practice on Tuesday. The 24-year-old was selected in the sixth round by the Eagles in 2024 and appeared in 16 games as a rookie, recording five catches. Wilson was expected to play a larger role on offense in his second season, but that will now have to wait until 2026. Philadelphia acquired wide receiver John Metchie III from the Houston Texans earlier this week, and Metchie III looks like the favorite to take Wilson's role as the team's WR4.