Who Should I Start? Isaiah Williams or Darius Cooper

Saturday, December 27, 1:44 AM

New York Jets wide receiver Isaiah Williams has carved out a spot in 11 personnel in recent weeks, although he can't be relied upon for fantasy in Sunday's divisional clash with the New England Patriots. The Jets' WR room has been all over the place in 2025. Between the additions of Adonai Mitchell and John Metchie III, and the loss of Garrett Wilson (knee), the corps has been in flux for most of the campaign. That said, Williams has recently settled into the WR3 role. Beginning in Week 14, the second-year pro saw his snap share tick up, and it's steadily done so each game since as he plays behind Mitchell and Metchie. In spite of a decent role, quarterback Brady Cook's play hasn't been enough to inspire confidence in the Jets' skill players, lowering the offense's overall floor. Outside of a cheap DFS play or back-end dynasty bench stash, fantasy managers can avoid Williams for the time being, considering his ranking as RotoBaller's PPR WR85 for Week 17's contest.

Sunday, January 4, 9:17 AM

Philadelphia Eagles rookie wide receiver Darius Cooper could handle a much larger workload than usual during Sunday's Week 18 contest against the Washington Commanders. Head coach Nick Sirianni indicated that he will rest several starters on Sunday, and although he didn't specifically list which players will be resting, it's fair to speculate that wide receivers DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown could be among the group. If so, Cooper would likely step into the No. 2 wide receiver role behind Jahan Dotson. Cooper hasn't ascended higher than third on the depth chart this season, so we don't know exactly what his role would look like if he earns the start opposite Dotson. With that being said, he has flashed potential lately. He caught two passes for 29 yards on a 30% snap share in Week 15, and he caught one pass for four yards on a career-high 31% snap share just last Sunday. There's a strong chance that the 24-year-old rookie plays more than half of the snaps if Brown and Smith are sidelined, and that could give him low-end WR3/flex appeal in very deep leagues. Once the Eagles announce which starters are resting, managers could consider adding Cooper to be a desperation WR3/flex play in fantasy leagues with at least 14 teams.