Who Should I Start? Rome Odunze or Tetairoa McMillan

Thursday, January 1, 4:32 PM

Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze (foot) remained sidelined from his team's practice on Thursday as he battles a stress fracture in his foot. The 23-year-old has not played since Week 13, and it appears he could be trending towards missing a fifth straight game in Week 18 against the Detroit Lions. Across 12 games before getting injured, Odunze had recorded 44 catches for 661 yards and six touchdowns on 90 targets. In his absence, Bears rookie wideout Luther Burden III (quad) has emerged as a key contributor in the Chicago passing game. Veteran wide receiver DJ Moore has also seen his role increase, recording three of his six touchdown receptions this season in the last three weeks. The Bears have already locked up the NFC North crown and will be either the number two or number three seed in the NFC playoffs, so the team has little incentive to rush Odunze back for its regular-season finale.

Monday, December 29, 4:13 PM

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales said the team is looking to get rookie first-round wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan more involved in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Saturday, according to Joseph Person of The Athletic. McMillan was under the weather last weekend and ended up catching just one pass for five yards in the Week 17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, his worst performance of his rookie season. "Our focal point is T-Mac. We try to build formations and try to get him into spots to get him the ball," Canales said. "I didn't do a good enough job of that last week, and we'll make sure that that comes alive." McMillan saw a lot of man and press coverage, which was considered his weak spot coming out of college. In the first game against Tampa two weeks ago, McMillan had six catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. Fantasy managers playing for a title in Week 18 will be hoping the Panthers grease the squeaky wheel in the rematch.