Who Should I Start? Marquise Brown or George Pickens

Friday, December 12, 2:27 PM

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marquise Brown (personal) will not play in Sunday's divisional matchup with the Chargers. Brown did not participate in Wednesday's practice, logged a limited participation on Thursday, and was not spotted during Friday's media access portion. He has now been ruled out for non-injury personal reasons. Since a Week 1 surprise outing that saw him targeted 14 times with Rashee Rice suspended and Xavier Worthy injured early, Brown has been largely irrelevant in most fantasy formats. Since Rice's return from suspension in Week 7, Brown has topped 40 receiving yards only once, while averaging 1.7 receptions per game. An unrestricted free agent after this season, he still holds some dynasty value, but he no longer needs to be rostered for redraft playoffs.

Friday, December 12, 7:47 PM

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens is coming off one of the worst showings of his breakout season, but he is still worth viewing as a WR1 in all formats when he faces the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night. Last Thursday, Pickens brought in just five of his nine targets for a mere 37 yards. This was his lowest total since Week 1, when he tallied only 30 yards on three receptions. His production last week was quite disappointing as the team's No. 1 WR, CeeDee Lamb, exited with a concussion. Still, Pickens was unable to connect with quarterback Dak Prescott. However, managers should continue to view Pickens as a must-start option as he enters Week 15 as the overall WR2 in PPR scoring despite his Week 14 dud. During Weeks 11 through 13, Pickens averaged an elite 24.6 PPR points per game and totaled 126 yards per game with two receiving scores. Overall, Pickens has found the back of the end zone eight times, which is the same number of times he found the end zone as a Steeler during the 2023 and 2024 seasons combined. Despite facing an elite Minnesota secondary that enters the fantasy playoffs allowing the fewest PPR points to opposing WRs, and Lamb cleared for action, Pickens still carries immense upside in all formats and is a must-start WR1 in all league types.