Who Should I Start? Marquise Brown or Emeka Egbuka

Friday, October 17, 10:30 PM

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marquise Brown will face the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7. Brown was listed on the injury report with an Achilles injury, but practiced fully all week and does not have an injury designation heading into the weekend. The 28-year-old didn't light the world on fire in Week 6, catching four passes for 45 yards, but he did manage to find the endzone twice in the matchup. It will be tougher sledding for Brown this week against the Raiders, but not due to the matchup. The Raiders have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this season, but Brown will have increased target competition with the return of Rashee Rice. Rice should immediately return to being the top target earner for Kansas City, leaving less volume for Brown. Brown is ranked WR46 in our RotoBaller Half-PPR rankings, making him a desperation flex option in Week 7.

Sunday, October 19, 12:02 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (hamstring) has "a real chance to play" on Monday night against the Detroit Lions, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Egbuka is listed as questionable. He missed two consecutive practices before returning in a limited capacity on Saturday. While having just one limited practice and zero full practices usually makes it tough to play, it sounds like Tampa Bay is leaving the door open for the rookie sensation to suit up. He has been one of the top stories of the young season, catching 27 passes for 469 yards and five touchdowns while ranking as the overall WR6 in PPR leagues. He has shown that he can co-exist with Mike Evans (hamstring), which is good news given that Evans is also expected to return from injury in Week 7. If Evans and Egbuka both suit up, and the latter is near 100 percent, then he would rank as a fringe top-12 fantasy receiver. Schefter's report sounds optimistic, but managers should still approach this situation with caution. A Monday night kickoff leaves managers with just four teams from which they can choose a replacement receiver if Egbuka isn't able to play. Putting him in the flex spot does expand your options to include running backs and tight ends, but managers should still prepare ahead of time and ensure that they have a healthy replacement in case Egbuka doesn't play. If such a replacement option doesn't exist on the bench or on waivers, managers may be inclined to take the safe route and play a healthy Sunday starter, leaving Egbuka on the bench due to his uncertain status.