Who Should I Start? Jordan Whittington or Arian Smith

Thursday, December 18, 1:22 AM

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Jordan Whittington could earn more targets during Thursday's Week 16 contest against the Seattle Seahawks with Davante Adams (hamstring) not expected to play. Los Angeles has shown an inconsistent pecking order behind Adams and Puka Nacua this year, with players like Whittington, Xavier Smith, Tutu Atwell, and Konata Mumpfield all getting different opportunities to produce. With that said, Whittington is the early favorite to step up as the No. 2 receiver alongside Nacua this week. He had two games with a snap share of at least 80% before the Rams' Week 6 bye, and he also commanded four targets in the game that Nacua missed earlier in the year. His role has dwindled lately, and his usage fell all the way down to a 6% snap share last week (partly due to injury). However, he is still one of the more established and dependable receivers on the depth chart, and he should get the first crack at earning Adams' vacated targets. With that said, he'll be going up against a strong Seahawks defense that has allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers in 2025. Between his non-guaranteed role and a challenging matchup, Whittington isn't a dependable fantasy option in most leagues for Week 16.

Wednesday, November 19, 12:15 AM

New York Jets wide receiver Arian Smith had his lowest snap share since Week 1 in the team's 27-14 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 11. Smith played just 15.8% of the snaps and ran 21.2% of the routes, both significantly lower than his season averages. It seems the rookie wideout has moved into a depth role after the Jets acquired two wide receivers at the trade deadline in John Metchie III and Adonai Mitchell. Smith wasn't a fantasy-relevant option to begin with, catching six of 10 targets for 47 yards in 10 games this season.