Who Should I Start? Keenan Allen or Zay Flowers

Monday, November 10, 5:51 PM

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen caught two passes for 19 yards on five targets in Sunday's 25-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was a quiet night statistically, but a historic one: Allen passed Hall of Famer Antonio Gates to become the Chargers' all-time leader in receptions. Unfortunately, the 33-year-old's route rate continues to decline (around 60%) as younger receivers like rookie Tre' Harris are integrated into the offense. His decrease in volume is typical of aging veterans mid to late in the season. Still, Week 11 offers a bounce-back opportunity against a struggling Jacksonville Jaguars defense that ranks ninth in passing yards allowed and fourth in receiving touchdowns surrendered. If rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden (quad) misses time, Allen could see an uptick in usage. He remains a WR3 with PPR upside, but if he continues to struggle to see volume, he might become more of a fringe WR4 moving forward.

Saturday, November 8, 9:47 AM

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers has already accrued 60 targets through eight games, which puts him on pace for the most in a single season through his three-year career. Unfortunately, he hasn't found the end zone since Week 1, but his heavy workload keeps him firmly in the WR2 conversation each week. In Week 10, he'll take on the Minnesota Vikings secondary, who are ranked as the eighth toughest matchup for opposing receiver groups. If you take the last three weeks into account, however, they've given up the second most fantasy points per game to receivers at 44.9 per game. Flowers should remain heavily involved, so he's projected as a high-end WR2 with a ceiling of low-end WR1.