Who Should I Start? Rashod Bateman or Zay Flowers

Tuesday, November 25, 3:39 PM

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said that wide receiver Rashod Bateman (ankle) was a full participant in practice on Tuesday, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. It puts Bateman on track to play on Thursday against the division-rival Cincinnati Bengals on Thanksgiving Day after he missed the last two games with an ankle sprain. The 25-year-old's return in Week 13 would make veteran DeAndre Hopkins less attractive as a flex play in deeper fantasy leagues in a great matchup against Cincy's soft pass defense. Bateman would be returning to an excellent matchup if he's active on Thursday, but he will still be hard to trust in a Ravens offense that has not been clicking. The Ravens have the fourth-fewest passing yards per game (176.6), and Bateman has not been trustworthy for fantasy managers with a 16-194-2 line in nine games. He's averaging a career-low 21.6 yards per game.

Saturday, November 22, 11:17 AM

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers has been one of the most consistent 10-to-12 fantasy point finishers in the NFL this year. That could be either good or bad depending on roster makeups and depth of league, but he's registered six finishes in that range for half-PPR formats. While the New York Jets are only 2-8 this season, they aren't the easiest matchup against opposing receiver groups. They're ranked 13th on the season, but they dipped to 23rd in the last four weeks and have given up a total of 37 receptions for 429 yards and two touchdowns. Flowers should see the same volume that he's received this season, but he's on a nine-game scoreless streak at the moment. That leaves him as a mid-level WR2 projection yet again.