Who Should I Start? Quintez Cephus or James Proche II

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.

Friday, August 1, 2:54 PM

Tennessee Titans wide receiver James Proche II has been "the most productive receiver in 11-on-11 drills" in the team's training camp practices, according to Easton Freeze of AtoZ Sports. The 28-year-old is in his first year in Tennessee after spending the last two years with the Cleveland Browns. Proche II has recorded 28 catches in 62 career NFL games, so a breakout this year with the Titans would be quite the surprise. Tennessee has established veterans Calvin Ridley and Tyler Lockett atop their wide receiver depth chart, but there could be opportunity behind them, particularly after former first-round pick Treylon Burks was released by the team earlier this week. Proche II's main competition for playing time figures to be rookies Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike, both of whom were selected in the fourth round of the 2025 draft. He's still a long way from fantasy relevance, but Proche II could be someone to keep an eye on in Titans preseason action.