Who Should I Start? Sterling Shepard or Adonai Mitchell

Monday, August 26, 2:35 PM

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers released veteran wide receiver Sterling Shepard on Monday, according to a source. The 31-year-old pass-catcher signed with Tampa with the hopes of rekindling his rapport with old teammate Baker Mayfield. It may still happen, though, as the Bucs are holding a practice spot for him. The former second-round pick by the New York Giants in 2016 out of Oklahoma had a career-high 872 receiving yards in 2018, but injuries pretty much derailed what was once a promising career. Shepard was unable to play in more than 12 games from 2019-22. In 15 games (two starts) last year in New York's terrible offense, he caught just 10 of 22 targets for 57 yards and one touchdown. An undisclosed injury also kept Shepard out of all three preseason games with the Buccaneers. If he re-signs with the team, he'll merely be providing depth at the position behind Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Jalen McMillan and others.

Monday, September 16, 12:52 AM

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Adonai Mitchell caught just one of his four targets for a 30-yard gain in the team's Week 2 loss to the Green Bay Packers. This now marks the second week in a row Mitchell saw favorable targets and air yards but has been unable to turn them into fantasy production. Mitchell's speed and separation abilities are undeniable, but he hasn't shown that he has a safe enough floor as a member of this Colts offense to warrant starting him with confidence in lineups. On top of that, the Colts are expecting WR Josh Downs (knee) to return back to the fold eventually, and it's unclear who's snap share will take the largest hit as a result. Fantasy managers will need to monitor Downs' Week 3 status before closely starting Mitchell in lineups, and even then, he can be considered a boom-or-bust WR4 option with the hopes that he can connect on a deep ball or two from Richardson.