Who Should I Start? Marquise Brown or Michael Pittman Jr.

Friday, December 20, 6:06 PM

The Kansas City Chiefs officially activated wide receiver Marquise Brown (shoulder) from Injured Reserve on Friday ahead of his regular-season debut for the team in Week 16 against the Houston Texans. Hollywood practiced in full this week and was removed from the final injury report on Thursday, ensuring that he will be active for the first time all year on Saturday. The 27-year-old signed with KC in the offseason to be a top wideout alongside Rashee Rice (knee), but a shoulder injury suffered in the preseason that required surgery has kept him out until this point. Rice is done for the season, but the Chiefs have also added DeAndre Hopkins and JuJu Smith-Schuster to the fold, so Brown won't necessarily be the unquestioned pass-catcher now that he's back. The Chiefs are fully expected to take it slow and ease Brown in, making him much too risky for fantasy lineups in Week 16.

Friday, December 20, 10:52 PM

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. was a full participant in practice on Friday. The 27-year-old did not practice on Wednesday, but was back to a full participant the following two sessions to close out the week. The 6-foot-4 wideout has dealt with back issues seemingly all season long, but it has cost him just one week of playing time. The former second-round draft pick has been Anthony Richardson's preferred target in the passing game over the last four weeks since being reinstated as the starting QB, averaging over five catches per contest, albeit for just 60 yards per game. The fifth-year pro hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 6, which happened to be against his Week 16 opponent, the Tennessee Titans. Although he found paydirt in that first meeting, he did so on just three catches for 35 yards. With the Titans allowing the fifth-fewest fantasy points to opposing receivers and with Richardson completing less than 50% of his passes on the season, expectations for Sunday's divisional showdown should be tempered. While the Colts are 3.5-point favorites in this one, there is a low expected total of 42.5 and Pittman Jr. projects as a WR4 this week, so hopefully fantasy managers have other options.