Who Should I Start? Quintez Cephus or Colton Dowell

Sunday, August 24, 8:45 AM

Houston Texans wide receiver Quintez Cephus finished the preseason on a high note, catching four of his seven targets for 51 yards and a touchdown against his former team, the Lions. Cephus' six-yard touchdown catch from Graham Mertz put the Texans ahead 16-7 just before halftime, and they went on to win 26-7. The Texans did not play starting quarterback C.J. Stroud or primary backup Davis Mills, but Cephus looked productive playing with rookie Graham Mertz. Cephus was a fifth-round pick of the Lions in 2020 and played three seasons in Detroit. He missed a season due to a suspension for violating the league's gambling policy and has since spent time with the Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, and Texans. He doesn't look likely to end up on the Texans' final roster, but he probably showed enough to get a look from another NFL team or at least end up on a practice squad somewhere.

Tuesday, May 20, 11:33 PM

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Colton Dowell (knee) has been taking part in organized team activities this week after missing the entire 2024 campaign following a torn ACL and meniscus in Week 17 of 2023. Dowell was the team's seventh-round selection (228th overall) in the 2023 NFL draft out of UT Martin. He appeared in only 10 games (one start) in his rookie season and hauled in one of his two targets for three yards. Most of his playing time that year came on special teams. Dowell is once again healthy, though, so he'll be gunning for a bigger role on offense heading into the 2025 campaign this fall. He'll be facing an uphill battle to even make the 53-man active roster out of training camp, though, as he's currently buried on the receiver depth chart behind Calvin Ridley, Tyler Lockett, Van Jefferson, Treylon Burks, rookies Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike, and James Proche II.