Who Should I Start? Keenan Allen or Deebo Samuel

Tuesday, December 17, 1:34 AM

Chicago Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen caught six of 13 targets for 81 yards and a touchdown in his team's 30-12 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. The veteran was Chicago's lone bright spot on Monday night and has been superb over his last few outings. After a horrendous start to the year, Allen has had four TDs in his previous four outings, and at least 73 yards, and eight targets in three of them. Since Week 9, the 32-year-old has racked up 65 targets to fellow wideout DJ Moore's 61. However, the latter has out-caught him 43-36. With quarterback Caleb Williams chucking it all over the yard on nearly 60% of Chicago's plays (59.03), there will surely be plenty of opportunities to go around. Still, they're not of the highest quality. Allen and the Bears will square off against the Detroit Lions in the fantasy semi-finals next Sunday.

Friday, December 20, 11:40 PM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. will bring the least productive five-game stretch of his career into a Week 16 matchup in Miami on Sunday. He is averaging 3.3 half-PPR points over that stretch, including a 3.4-point performance last Thursday at home versus the Los Angeles Rams. Samuel Sr. reached a low point when he dropped an important 3rd-down pass in LA territory to a chorus of boos from the home fans. He'll have better days ahead -- he's certainly a better player than this -- but at this point, Samuel Sr. is untrustable in fantasy. In addition, Miami's tough pass defense has limited fantasy receivers to the second-lowest total in the league. Perhaps Samuel Sr. sees an increase in carries, with the 49ers down to their fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-string running backs due to a deluge of injuries. It might not matter much, though, as he's only averaging 2.7 yards per carry this year with one rushing touchdown, way back in Week 1. He's projected as a WR4 this week, and most Samuel Sr. managers still in the fantasy playoffs probably benched him long ago.