Who Should I Start? Pat Freiermuth or Rome Odunze

Friday, October 17, 12:29 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth caught four of his five targets for 111 yards and two touchdowns during Thursday's Week 7 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals. His touchdowns came on 19-yard and 68-yard receptions, the latter of which gave Pittsburgh a late lead (that they would ultimately relinquish). Freiermuth had not yet posted a fantasy performance with more than 6.1 fantasy points this season (PPR), so Thursday's breakout was admittedly unexpected. It should give fantasy managers optimism moving forward, but there's no denying that the 26-year-old continues to face competition at the tight end position. Fellow tight ends Jonnu Smith and Darnell Washington each scored touchdowns on Thursday night, too, offering Aaron Rodgers plenty of options when he's looking to target big, physical receivers in the passing game. As a result, managers should view Freiermuth as a low-end TE2 for Week 8.

Saturday, October 18, 12:11 PM

Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze is coming off a quiet Week 6, recording just two catches for 32 yards. However, his day could have been much bigger, as Odunze had an 11-yard touchdown negated by a penalty and narrowly missed on a few deep connections with Caleb Williams. Despite the down week, the second-year receiver is still in the midst of a breakout season, totaling 328 yards and five touchdowns in five games, ranking as the WR7 on a per-game basis. Odunze draws a favorable matchup in Week 7 against the New Orleans Saints, who have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season. With the Saints' defense surrendering big performances to WR1s like Marvin Harrison Jr., Jauan Jennings, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba so far this season, Odunze is in a prime bounce-back spot. He should be viewed as a high-end WR2 this week, with significant big-play upside against a struggling Saints secondary.