Who Should I Start? Michael Thomas or Justin Jefferson

Wednesday, September 11, 8:40 PM

The National Football League on Wednesday announced that it has lifted the suspension of free-agent wide receiver Michael Thomas. Thomas was suspended for the first game of the 2024 NFL season for an incident with a construction worker near his home last year. The fact that the 31-year-old remained without a team all offseason is a sign that he may struggle to latch on with an organization despite the fact that he's past his one-game suspension. Just several years ago, Thomas was the best receiver in the league, but injuries have limited him to 20 games since the start of the 2020 campaign, and he played in just 10 games with the New Orleans Saints last year before a knee injury ended his season. He caught 39 passes for 448 yards and one touchdown in 2023. Thomas belongs on the waiver wire in all leagues and is unlikely to be on the fantasy radar in 2024.

Monday, December 15, 8:07 AM

For the second straight week, the Minnesota Vikings put together an excellent offensive day with modest output from wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who was held to only two catches in his team's 34-26 victory against the Dallas Cowboys. The Vikings targeted Jefferson a team-high eight times, but the result was two catches for 22 yards. It was a hard-luck night for Jefferson, who caught a touchdown from quarterback J.J. McCarthy that was negated by an illegal formation penalty in the first half, missed out on a would-have-been big play when McCarthy overthrew him in the fourth quarter, and then dropped a touchdown later on the same drive. Managers who survived into Week 16 will see Jefferson in a favorable setting against the New York Giants, yet with just six catches in the past three games, it's getting more and more difficult to trust Minnesota's offense to get Jefferson the ball.