Who Should I Start? Marquez Valdes-Scantling or Nick Westbrook-Ikhine

Saturday, September 13, 3:22 AM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling saw zero targets on 15 routes run in Week 1. With George Kittle (hamstring) now on injured reserve and Jauan Jennings (shoulder) tagged as questionable for San Francisco's Week 2 matchup against the Saints, it is possible that Valdes-Scantling plays a bigger role on Sunday. Unfortunately, Brock Purdy (toe, shoulder) has been ruled out so it will be Mac Jones under center, limiting Valdes-Scantling's upside even if he does see more playing time. MVS does have the ability to stretch the field but Jones' career completion rate on passes of 20 or more air yards is a mere 30%, effectively negating that threat. If it were Purdy running the show, Valdes-Scantling would have more potential but as it is, he has little viability in Week 2.

Saturday, October 4, 11:05 AM

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine will move up the depth chart to the third receiver for his team after Tyreek Hill (knee) was lost for the season. Westbrook-Ikhine signed a two-year, $6.5 million contract with Miami this offseason, and now, he'll have a chance to contribute on a more regular basis. He played a season-high 47% of snaps in Week 4 when Hill was hurt and caught his one target for one yard. For the season, he only has four catches for 26 yards, but he should get many more opportunities going forward. Last year with the Titans, he showed a knack for finding the end zone with nine touchdowns on 32 catches for 497 yards. Miami's offense hasn't been extremely productive this year, but with more work comes the potential that NWI works his way to fantasy relevance. This week's matchup with the Panthers isn't a great one for receivers, though, leaving him as the WR69 in RotoBaller's rankings.