Who Should I Start? Rondale Moore or Xavier Hutchinson

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, October 4, 11:56 AM

Houston Texans wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson continues to be the most involved receiver on the outside across the field from Nico Collins, with Christian Kirk playing in the slot. He hasn't had much production in the Texans' ineffective passing game, but he's getting enough work to be worth monitoring coming into this week's matchup with the Ravens, who have allowed the third-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season. Hutchinson played 68% of the team's snaps in Week 4, ahead of both rookie Jayden Higgins (44%) and rookie Jaylin Noel (24%). Hutchinson also had three targets, converting two into catches for 17 yards, while Higgins and Noel only had one target each. Higgins made the most of his catch with a touchdown, but it still looks like Hutchinson is ahead of him on the depth chart. Even with his bigger role and good matchup, Hutchinson is only the WR74 in the RotoBaller rankings, so he is best left on the bench or waiver wires until something changes.