Who Should I Start? Ladd McConkey or Tetairoa McMillan

Wednesday, September 17, 6:20 PM

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey (biceps) is on the Week 3 injury report and was listed as a non-participant at Wednesday's practice. It could help explain why McConkey wasn't all that involved in the Monday night win over the Las Vegas Raiders, when he caught all five of his targets for 48 yards. In the season-opening win over the Kansas City Chiefs, the second-year pass-catcher caught six of nine targets for 74 yards. McConkey is a must-start each week in fantasy lineups if he's active, especially with quarterback Justin Herbert looking strong early in 2025, but his status will be worth monitoring going into Sunday's divisional tilt in Week 3 against the Denver Broncos. If McConkey is unable to play this weekend, Keenan Allen and Quentin Johnston will both draw more targets, as will rookie Tre' Harris. The return of Allen and the emergence of Johnston, who has three touchdowns in two games, has certainly lowered McConkey's fantasy ceiling so far.

Saturday, September 13, 5:46 AM

Carolina Panthers rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan led the Panthers with 68 receiving yards and five receptions on nine targets in their Week 1 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Considering the poor play of quarterback Bryce Young and the Panthers' offense as a whole, McMillan's fantasy output in PPR leagues wasn't terrible (11.8 PPR points). However, if you roster McMillan in fantasy, you likely need him to produce WR2 numbers, which he didn't quite do in Week 1. Heading into Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals, McMillan will once again have opportunities, as he was on the field for 83% of the Panthers' offensive plays in Week 1, leading all Panthers wideouts. The question is whether the Panthers' offensive line can give Young enough time to get the ball downfield for big plays to the big-bodied McMillan. If Young can improve in Week 2, it is expected that McMillan will outscore his Week 1 total. McMillan is a solid WR3/Flex option with WR2 upside heading into Week 2 against Arizona.