Who Should I Start? Kayshon Boutte or Emeka Egbuka

Thursday, January 8, 7:14 PM

New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte (hamstring) was added to the injury report on Thursday and was listed as a limited participant in practice due to a hamstring injury. Mid-week additions to the injury report can be a bad sign, but it's unclear if the 23-year-old suffered a new injury in practice on Thursday. Boutte's status on Friday will give us a little more clarity on whether he can play on Sunday night in the Wild-Card tilt against the visiting Los Angeles Chargers. If he's active, Boutte should be considered a low-end, low-ceiling WR2 for fantasy football playoff lineups. The Patriots' offense was one of the most efficient units in the NFL this year, but Boutte was outside the top-50 receivers in half-PPR points per game with 33 receptions for 551 yards and six touchdowns in 14 games. If Boutte is limited or out this weekend, it would open the door for both DeMario Douglas and rookie Kyle Williams for more targets behind Stefon Diggs.

Friday, January 2, 9:55 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka has fallen off the fantasy radar so quickly as soon as All-Pro Mike Evans returned to the lineup, but also since the return of second-year wideout Jalen McMillan out of Washington. Egbuka has seen his snap share cut almost in half, and over the past three weeks, he has only seen 14 targets and hauled in eight of them for 140 yards. What is most concerning is that he has not been on the field as often, as he has only played 59.3 percent of the snaps over this three-game stretch, and is clearly behind Evans and Chris Godwin in the pecking order, and he and McMillan appear to be splitting snaps as the WR3. Egbuka was off to a blazing start to the season with five touchdowns and 445 yards through the first five games, but he has quickly fallen off the radar and disappointed in the second half of the season with only 485 yards since. At this point, he is still worth a roster spot in most formats, but he can't be trusted to start as anything better than a WR3, and his value is plummeting.