Who Should I Start? Parker Washington or Ihmir Smith-Marsette

Saturday, December 21, 12:00 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Parker Washington is a difficult player for fantasy managers in the playoffs to feel good about starting in Week 16 against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders serve as a good matchup for the young receiver, but Washington has been overshadowed by Brian Thomas Jr. and Brenton Strange ever since he broke out with six catches for 103 yards and a touchdown against the Houston Texans in Week 13. Also, Mac Jones has been a volatile player when replacing Trevor Lawrence at quarterback, either having good enough games to support multiple receiving options in fantasy or struggling to support even one. Despite a great matchup with the Raiders, it is hard to recommend Washington with confidence in Week 16 due to his target competition and inconsistent quarterback play.

Saturday, August 24, 9:36 PM

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette (ankle) left the team's preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills early on Saturday after landing awkwardly completing a catch in the second quarter. The 24-year-old hauled in 2-of-3 targets for 11 yards while contributing 27 yards on two punt returns and a field-flipping 46 yards on his lone kick return. Smith-Marsette was productive before he picked up the injury and is expected to be the team's returner this upcoming season. Barring the severity of his ankle issue, that could still be the case. It's a bit early to tell how impactful the NFL's new kickoff rules will be come the start of the regular season. However, fantasy managers may want to keep the Iowa product on their radar as a sneaky option, depending on how your league values return yards. His Yahoo! ADP is far down enough that he'd be best suited as a prospective waiver-wire add.