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

Monday, January 6, 11:47 AM

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Parker Washington salvaged his fantasy day with a touchdown in a 26-23 overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Washington finished with just two catches for 15 yards and a nine-touchdown. The young receiver has been inconsistent ever since taking over at receiver for the injured Christian Kirk and Gabe Davis. He surpassed 100 yards back in Week 13 against the Houston Texans when Mac Jones first took over at QB. However, since then he has struggled to consistently produce, always outshined by the talented Brian Thomas Jr. Washington does seem like a decent red zone threat at least, scoring each of the last two weeks. Washington could turn into a decent flex option if he becomes a consistent starter in the 2025 NFL season.

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.