Who Should I Start? Kyle Philips or Treylon Burks

Tuesday, February 18, 8:54 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders signed free-agent wide receiver Kyle Philips to an undisclosed deal on Tuesday. Philips, a former fifth-round selection by the Tennessee Titans in 2022 out of UCLA will head to the AFC West after spending all of the 2024 campaign on the practice squad of the Philadelphia Eagles. In 2022 and 2023, he caught only 23 of 35 targets for 259 yards and no touchdowns in 13 games played (no starts). The 25-year-old pass-catcher also saw time on special teams as a kickoff and punt returner, which will probably be his best path to a roster spot with the Raiders. Philips will be reuniting with his old head coach at UCLA in Chip Kelly, who is now the Raiders' offensive coordinator under new head coach Pete Carroll. Philips's familiarity with Kelly won't guarantee him a roster spot out of training camp, though.

Wednesday, December 24, 10:12 AM

Washington Commanders wide receiver Treylon Burks led the team in targets in last week's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, catching two of five targets for 30 yards. The 2022 first-round pick saw his snaps decrease with the return of Noah Brown in Week 14, but with Brown now on Injured Reserve due to a rib injury, Burks played the most he has all season in Week 16. Burks tied Terry McLaurin for the highest snap share (84.3%) on the team and should continue to see a healthy number of routes on Christmas Day against the Dallas Cowboys' 32nd-ranked pass defense. However, the favorable matchup could be offset by Washington starting journeyman Josh Johnson at QB this week, with Marcus Mariota's status in doubt due to hand and quadriceps injuries. It's tough to trust Burks as anything more than a deep-league flex option in Week 17.