Who Should I Start? Rondale Moore or Ihmir Smith-Marsette

Tuesday, August 12, 4:19 PM

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Rondale Moore (knee) has suffered another season-ending knee injury, according to Alec Lewis of The Athletic. This one really hurts for Moore, who also missed the the entire 2024 campaign with the Atlanta Falcons due to a knee injury. The 25-year-old was selected in the second round (49th overall) in 2021 by the Arizona Cardinals out of Purdie. Moore spent the first three seasons of his career in the desert, catching 135 of 182 targets for 1,201 yards and only three touchdowns (one per year) in 39 games (23 starts) over those three seasons. It might be an uphill battle the rest of his career for him to get back to a prominent role on offense in the NFL. Moore wasn't really on the fantasy radar to begin with in 12-team leagues, but his injury is significant for a WR room that will also be without Jordan Addison (suspension) for the first four games.

Saturday, August 24, 9:36 PM

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette (ankle) left the team's preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills early on Saturday after landing awkwardly completing a catch in the second quarter. The 24-year-old hauled in 2-of-3 targets for 11 yards while contributing 27 yards on two punt returns and a field-flipping 46 yards on his lone kick return. Smith-Marsette was productive before he picked up the injury and is expected to be the team's returner this upcoming season. Barring the severity of his ankle issue, that could still be the case. It's a bit early to tell how impactful the NFL's new kickoff rules will be come the start of the regular season. However, fantasy managers may want to keep the Iowa product on their radar as a sneaky option, depending on how your league values return yards. His Yahoo! ADP is far down enough that he'd be best suited as a prospective waiver-wire add.