Who Should I Start? Justyn Ross or Alec Pierce

Wednesday, February 12, 8:45 PM

The Kansas City Chiefs signed wide receivers Justyn Ross, Tyquan Thornton and Jason Brownlee, safety Deon Bush, tight end Baylor Cupp, defensive tackles Siaki Ika and Fabien Lovett, offensive tackle Chukwuebuka Godrick, quarterback Chris Oladokun and cornerbacks Darius Rush and Eric Scott to Reserve/Futures deals on Tuesday. Ross and Thornton are the biggest names of the group. Ross, 25, spent the majority of the 2024 season on KC's practice squad and didn't catch his only target while being active for two regular-season games in Weeks 9 and 10. The former undrafted free agent out of Clemson caught six of 11 targets for 53 yards and no touchdowns in 10 games in his rookie season in 2023. Thornton, 24, was a second-round pick by the Patriots in 2022 out of Baylor but was waived in November after catching four of eight targets for 47 yards in six games for New England.

Sunday, January 5, 8:34 PM

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce did his usual thing on Sunday, catching a deep 40-yard touchdown pass on the team's opening drive and adding another 17-yard catch in the 26-23 win over the Jaguars. Despite only 37 receptions on the season, the 24-year-old finishes as the Colts' receiving leader with 824 yards and seven touchdowns. With blazing speed, he led the league in average depth of target (aDOT) which helped him rack up the yardage. The former second-round draft pick will likely fill a similar role in 2025 but, unless he can garner additional targets, it's hard to envision outpacing this season's production. Nevertheless, he should be worthy of at least a bench spot in next year's drafts, as he can be a viable (yet volatile) fill-in when the bye weeks hit.