Who Should I Start? Nico Collins or Ladd McConkey

Thursday, January 29, 1:25 PM

Even with Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud struggling for the second straight year in 2025, wide receiver Nico Collins managed a third straight 1,000-yard season in his fifth year in the NFL. Collins caught 71 of a career-high 120 targets for 1,117 yards and six touchdowns in 15 regular-season games to finish as the WR9 in half-PPR scoring. His season finished on a sour note, though, as he was unable to play in the Divisional Round loss to the New England Patriots due to a concussion that he suffered in the Wild-Card round of the playoffs. The 26-year-old pass-catcher ranked 15th among all WRs with his 120 targets, and his 12.7 half-PPR points per game were 10th in the league. Collins could see more competition for targets from young wideouts Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel in 2026, but he should still be Stroud's unquestioned top target in the passing game.

Tuesday, January 27, 12:20 PM

After an excellent rookie season in 2024, Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey posted a relatively disappointing sophomore campaign in 2025. Across 16 games played, the 24-year-old recorded 66 receptions for 789 yards and six touchdowns on 106 targets. McConkey's production fell off sharply down the stretch of the season, as he recorded just one game with more than 40 receiving yards after Week 10. After losing in the AFC Wild Card Round to the New England Patriots, the Chargers decided to move on from offensive coordinator Greg Roman, replacing him with former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel. While McDaniel's tenure in Miami went downhill over the last couple of seasons, he coached the Dolphins to top-five offenses by measure of total passing yardage in both 2022 and 2023. By contrast, Roman-coached teams have never finished better than 13th in passing yardage in any of his 12 seasons as an NFL offensive coordinator. Given the change in offensive infrastructure around him, McConkey could be in line for a bounce-back season in 2026.