Who Should I Start? Kayshon Boutte or Dont'e Thornton Jr.

Wednesday, November 5, 1:34 PM

New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said that wide receiver Kayshon Boutte (hamstring) will not practice with the team on Wednesday, per Patriots.com's Evan Lazar. With a DNP to begin the week, Boutte is in danger of missing the Week 10 game in Tampa against the Buccaneers after he injured his hamstring in the Week 9 win over the Atlanta Falcons and was unable to return to the contest. The 23-year-old third-year receiver ended his streak of three straight games finding the end zone as a result, and he failed to catch his only target last Sunday before leaving the game. DeMario Douglas only played 24% of the offensive snaps against the Falcons, but he benefited from Boutte's injury to go for a season-high 100 receiving yards and his third touchdown of 2025 on four catches. Douglas, Stefon Diggs, Mack Hollins, and rookie Kyle Williams would see expanded roles if Boutte is unable to play this weekend.

Tuesday, October 21, 9:11 PM

Las Vegas Raiders rookie wide receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr. has largely been phased out of the team's offense in recent weeks. Thornton Jr. has recorded five catches for 94 yards on 19 targets across seven games this season. However, he has been held without a reception in each of his last four games played. For the time being, Thornton Jr. appears to be firmly behind Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker, and Jack Bech on the wide receiver depth chart in Las Vegas. That could change in the coming weeks, as Meyers has reportedly been seeking a trade away from the 2-5 Raiders. With Meyers (knee, toe) inactive in Week 7 due to injury, Thornton Jr. played a season-high 86% of the team's offensive snaps. Even if Meyers is traded, Thornton Jr. will be tough for fantasy managers to trust given his lack of production so far. Still, he's a name to monitor in deeper leagues if the Raiders deal Meyers at some point before the NFL trade deadline.