Who Should I Start? Robert Woods or Ja'Lynn Polk

Friday, October 4, 3:19 PM

Houston Texans wide receiver Robert Woods (foot) popped up on the injury report this week on Thursday and was labeled as a DNP. Woods returned to practice in limited fashion on Friday but is now questionable to play in Week 5 against the visiting Buffalo Bills. The good news for Texans' receiving corps is that they are getting back second-year wideout Tank Dell (concussion) after he missed the Week 4 win over the division-rival Jacksonville Jaguars. With Dell sidelined last weekend, Woods caught just one of his three targets for 10 yards. He was not targeted at all in the first two weeks of the season and has only three catches (five targets) for 28 yards through the first four weeks of 2024. The 32-year-old veteran is buried too far down on Houston's receiver depth chart to make a difference in the vast majority of fantasy leagues.

Sunday, September 29, 8:56 PM

New England Patriots wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk converted seven targets into three catches for 30 yards during Sunday's Week 4 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Polk had not commanded more than three targets in a single game through the first three weeks of the season, but that evidently changed this week as Polk led the Patriots with seven passes thrown his way. Despite the increased volume, Polk still didn't deliver a very appealing fantasy performance due to his lower catch and yardage totals. On a promising note, he made an impressive grab in heavy coverage along the sideline. It was ruled incomplete, but only because Polk just barely missed getting both feet in bounds. The play should give fantasy managers optimism that Polk can make flashy catches against starting cornerbacks in the NFL. The rookie isn't a reliable option for Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins, but his long-term value continues to grow as he makes an impression early in his Patriots career.