Who Should I Start? Rashod Bateman or Michael Penix Jr.

Saturday, October 4, 2:28 PM

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman had just one catch in Week 4 against the Kansas City Chiefs, bringing his season-long totals to 10 receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown on 17 targets. Baltimore's passing game will be shorthanded in Week 5, as Cooper Rush will replace Lamar Jackson (hamstring) at quarterback in a tough matchup against the Houston Texans. Houston's defense has allowed the seventh-fewest passing yards (790) and second-fewest number of passing touchdowns (three) in the NFL. Bateman is typically reliant on downfield targets for production, which may be tough to come by with Rush under center. At best, Bateman profiles as a desperation deep-league flex option in Week 5.

Tuesday, September 30, 12:21 PM

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. got back on track in Sunday's 34-27 win over the Commanders, completing 20 of his 26 passes for 313 yards and two scores. He did throw one interception as well and was sacked once. The former first-rounder's 90.5 QBR for the game was a solid increase from the 71.3 rating he had going into the contest, and there was a marked improvement in the second-year quarterback's average yards per pass attempt, going from 6.1 in Weeks 1-3 to 12.0 in Week 4 (the highest of any QB). While it was a great bounce-back performance after two down weeks, the 25-year-old draws Buffalo in Week 5 after the team comes out of their bye, and the Bills have limited opposing passers to 125.8 yards per game thus far, which is the fewest yards passing per game in the entire NFL, so fantasy managers may want to look elsewhere for streaming options the next time Penix takes the field.