Who Should I Start? Kalif Raymond or Troy Franklin

Wednesday, December 24, 10:32 PM

Detroit Lions wide receiver Kalif Raymond had his best performance of the season in Week 16 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, recording four catches for 62 yards and a touchdown on five targets. Raymond could see an expanded role again in Week 17 against the Minnesota Vikings, as top Lions wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown (knee) is questionable to play due to a knee injury. However, if St. Brown is active, there's reason to believe Raymond's performance in Week 16 is unlikely to be repeated. Lions quarterback Jared Goff threw 54 passes against Pittsburgh, 17 more than he attempted in his first matchup of the season against the Vikings in Week 9. Additionally, Minnesota has been a very tough matchup for opposing passing attacks. The Vikings enter the week ranked second in the NFL in total passing yards allowed (2,790) and tied for second in passing touchdowns allowed (14). Raymond has some upside as a deep-league flex option for fantasy managers if St. Brown is sidelined. If St. Brown is active, fantasy managers should likely avoid Raymond in Week 17.

Friday, January 16, 11:04 PM

Denver Broncos wide receiver Troy Franklin took a pretty big leap forward in his second NFL season in 2025, catching 65 passes on 104 targets for 709 yards and six touchdowns in 17 regular-season games after posting a 28-263-2 line in 16 games as a rookie in 2024. Franklin was the team's second leading receiver this year behind Courtland Sutton, and his six TDs also ranked second. The 22-year-old was tied for 46th among all WRs at 8.3 half-PPR fantasy points per game, though, and he wasn't as productive late in the year when rookie Pat Bryant began to see a bigger role next to him in the passing game. In the last two regular-season games, Franklin caught only four passes for 17 yards, although the Broncos' offense didn't have to do much to handle KC and L.A. with most of their starters resting. Against the Bills in the Divisional Round, a defense that allowed the seventh-fewest half-PPR points per game to receivers, Franklin will be a low-cost, low-end fantasy WR in playoff formats.