Who Should I Start? Mack Hollins or Chimere Dike

Saturday, November 22, 10:42 AM

New England Patriots wide receiver Mack Hollins has been a pleasant surprise lately, catching 19 passes for 268 yards over his last four games. He ranks as the WR23 in PPR leagues during that span, but a portion of his contributions came with Kayshon Boutte (hamstring) sidelined. Boutte returns to action this Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12, raising questions about Hollins' expected role. Fortunately, the veteran receiver was able to carve out a consistent role even before Boutte suffered his injury. In his final game before Boutte got hurt, Hollins played 72% of the snaps with seven catches for 89 yards. For comparison, last weekend, the 32-year-old had an 85% snap share with four catches and 64 yards. Even if Hollins' snap share drops a few percentage points with Boutte back, he should still maintain a sizable role in New England's offense. Managers should be wary of the fact that Cincinnati has allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to receivers playing out wide this season, but Hollins still has upside given his possession skills, as well as his occasional reps in the slot (21.2% rate). He ranks as RotoBaller's WR45 this week and could be a decent flex play.

Wednesday, November 26, 10:40 PM

Since the firing of head coach Brian Callahan following a 1-5 start, Tennessee Titans rookie wide receiver Chimere Dike has been on a 17-game pace of 65 receptions for 768 yards and seven touchdowns. He has also added two punt return touchdowns in that time while looking explosive anytime he's had the ball in his hands. While most fantasy leagues do not reward players for punt or kick return yardage, Dike is currently on pace to set the NFL record for all-purpose yards in a single season. While the Tennessee offense is still not one that demands its players be started, number one overall pick Cam Ward has shown clear signs of improvement of late and a growing cohesion with his young pass catchers. In deeper leagues, Dike has played his way into flex consideration, and he faces a league-average Jaguars pass defense in Week 13.