Who Should I Start? Rashod Bateman or DeMario Douglas

Friday, December 26, 11:15 AM

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman has finished as a WR3 or higher in just two games all year in half-PPR formats. Once in Week 3 as the WR15 and again in Week 9 as the WR36. His average finish this season is the WR78, which firmly puts him outside of the start-worthy options in most fantasy leagues. The Green Bay Packers have been quite generous to opposing receivers (ranked 30th over the last four weeks), but Bateman will most likely have Tyler Huntley behind center in this matchup. In Huntley's other two starts this year, Bateman received one and four targets respectively, with a combined three catches for 59 yards. For fantasy managers in their championship game, Bateman projects as the WR84, which would be very hard to trust in a must-win situation.

Saturday, December 27, 12:24 PM

New England Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas (hamstring) could sneak onto the fantasy radar in deeper leagues, but first, he'll need to shake his injury concerns. The third-year receiver is listed as questionable to play in Sunday's Week 17 contest against the New York Jets. If Douglas suits up, he should earn additional targets with Mack Hollins (abdomen) and Kayshon Boutte (concussion) both sidelined. In that scenario, Douglas would presumably operate as the No. 3 wide receiver behind Stefon Diggs and Kyle Williams. Of that group, Diggs has the highest upside, but Douglas is still a solid fantasy play given his usage in short-yardage and medium-yardage situations. He has a catch in 13 of 15 games this season and should rank as a top-50 fantasy receiver for Week 17. He'll likely benefit from this matchup against the Jets, who have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to slot receivers in 2025. Douglas has played in the slot on 71.1% of his snaps.