Who Should I Start? Michael Pittman Jr. or Brock Bowers

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.

Saturday, December 21, 2:58 AM

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers will face the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 16. They have one of the worst pass defenses in the last 25 years in terms of passing Expected Points Added per play allowed. That statistic attempts to measure how impactful each play is for the opposing offense. JAX thus allows a ton of big and crucial plays, and does that often. With the team's QB1, Aidan O'Connell (knee) set to return from injury, Bowers will have his preferred signal-caller back in the lineup, and should be fed a healthy dose of targets. This will be another chance for the stellar rookie to shine, and fantasy managers should not leave him out of their lineups in any leagues with tight end slots in starting lineups. He should be started in all leagues this week, as he's primed for a monster game.