Who Should I Start? Jalen McMillan or Dont'e Thornton Jr.

Tuesday, July 22, 10:52 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Jalen McMillan is still a very large part of the Buccaneers' plans this season, according to new offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard. Grizzard was new coach Liam Coen's pass game coordinator last year, and when pressed to give a player who needed to play well for his offense to work this season, he identified McMillan. Grizzard said, "He's in a good spot." The Bucs' receiver room is crowded with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin coming back from injury, and new first-round pick Emeka Egbuka. McMillan made a big impact, though, 37 catches for 461 yards and eight touchdowns. He stepped up after Godwin's injury and had seven touchdowns in his last five games. McMillan is a risky pick with so many options in the offense, but he showed off a high enough ceiling to definitely be a part of starting lineups in standard leagues coming into the season.

Wednesday, August 6, 12:06 PM

On the Las Vegas Raiders' first unofficial depth chart of the preseason, they've listed rookie wide receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr. as a starter opposite Jakobi Meyers. Thornton has impressed all season leading into his first year in the NFL and continues to get reps with the first-team offense during training camp. With the Raiders expected to play their starters in their preseason opener this Thursday against the Seattle Seahawks, we should see the 22-year-old get some run with quarterback Geno Smith for a series or two. So far, Thornton has been more impressive than Jack Bech, and he could operate as Smith's top deep threat down the field in 2025. Thornton averaged an impressive 25.4 yards per catch in his final season at Tennessee and could be worth a late-round flier in deep fantasy leagues. RotoBaller has him ranked as the WR78.