Who Should I Start? Mack Hollins or Kalif Raymond

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.

Tuesday, November 25, 6:46 PM

Detroit Lions wide receiver Kalif Raymond (ankle) missed his second practice of the week on Tuesday due to an ankle injury, according to Eric Woodyard of ESPN. It's looking like Raymond won't be able to play on Thanksgiving Day on Thursday when the division-rival Green Bay Packers come to town after he hurt his ankle in Sunday's overtime victory over the New York Giants. If he is unable to practice on Wednesday, Raymond will almost certainly be ruled out for Week 13, which would open up more snaps for rookie third-rounder Isaac TeSlaa. The 31-year-old Raymond has had a limited role in Detroit's offense in his fifth year with the team, catching only 15 of 19 targets for 150 yards and no touchdowns in 11 games played. He caught both of his targets in Week 12 for 37 yards, his second-best yardage output of the year.