Who Should I Start? Jonathan Mingo or Ihmir Smith-Marsette

Tuesday, August 26, 7:32 PM

The Dallas Cowboys placed wide receiver Jonathan Mingo (knee) on Injured Reserve on Tuesday but designated him for a return, which means that Mingo will be eligible to rejoin the active roster after missing the first four games. The 24-year-old wideout is still recovering from a PCL sprain in his right knee that he suffered in the middle of August in a preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. The earliest that Mingo would be able to make his 2025 debut would be in Week 5 on Oct. 5 against the New York Jets. CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens are Dallas' top two receivers, and with Mingo now sidelined at least four games, Jalen Tolbert and KaVontae Turpin will battle it out for WR3 duties. Neither Tolbert nor Turpin will really be rosterable in 12-team fantasy leagues unless one of Lamb or Pickens miss time with an injury.

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.