Who Should I Start? Kevin Austin Jr. or Brenden Rice

Sunday, January 4, 8:27 AM

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. is expected to have an expanded role in Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons. The Saints will be without Chris Olave (illness) and Mason Tipton (groin) for the regular-season finale. The absence of those players should push Austin into the No. 1 wideout role in this offense. With all the injuries to the Saints' wideouts, Dante Pettis should also see an increase in target share on Sunday. Austin made himself known to the league when he hauled in four receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown in Week 17's win over the Tennessee Titans. Austin was able to do that with Olave healthy for that game, which means he should be able to produce more without him this weekend. Fantasy managers with something on the line this week can use Austin as a FLEX play, or in DFS contests, might want to target Austin as he's priced at only $3,400 on DraftKings.

Sunday, August 31, 10:08 PM

Free agent wide receiver Brenden Rice is working out for the New Orleans Saints on Monday, according to Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports. Rice is the son of Hall of Fame wideout Jerry Rice. A seventh-round pick of the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024, Rice appeared in three games without recording a catch as a rookie and was released by Los Angeles earlier this week. The 23-year-old worked out for the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday, so there are at least a couple of teams with speculative interest. The Saints have a solid top-four in their wide receiver room between Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Brandin Cooks, and Devaughn Vele. If Rice signs in New Orleans, it would likely be a practice squad deal.