Who Should I Start? Rome Odunze or Travis Hunter

Thursday, January 29, 12:00 PM

Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze was a popular preseason breakout candidate in fantasy football going into his sophomore campaign in 2025, mainly because of new head coach Ben Johnson. Fantasy managers who drafted Odunze were stoked early on, as he caught 20 of his 35 targets for 296 yards and five touchdowns in the first four weeks. That's where the good news last season ended, as the 23-year-old second-year pass-catcher only had one 100-yard game and scored just one more touchdown all year to finish with a 44-661-6 line in 12 games. Odunze missed the final five games of the regular season due to a stress fracture in his foot, and he caught four of his 12 targets for 88 yards in two postseason contests. It was a disappointing end to what could have been a second-year breakout. The good news is that he won't need surgery on his foot, and his chemistry with rising young quarterback Caleb Williams is strong. There's still a lot of upside with Odunze, but the emergence of young receiver Luther Burden III and tight end Colston Loveland could cap his ceiling in the years to come.

Monday, January 26, 2:34 PM

ESPN's Michael DiRocco writes that "early indications" are that Jacksonville Jaguars two-way star and former Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter is "primarily going to be a cornerback and have a package of plays on offense." Hunter's rookie season in the NFL was cut short by a season-ending knee injury, but he finished the year as more of a receiver than a cornerback. He played 67% of the offensive snaps and 36% of the defensive snaps before his non-contact knee injury in practice on Oct. 30. The Jaguars will continue to use Hunter on offense, but they have more of a need at defensive back going into next season. Hunter could start across from Jourdan Lewis while also playing in nickel situations. What general manager James Gladstone does in free agency will help clarify what exactly the Jags will do with Hunter, but right now, it looks like his fantasy football stock will drop drastically.