Who Should I Start? Sterling Shepard or Marquez Valdes-Scantling

Sunday, December 21, 12:08 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Sterling Shepard (coach's decision) is a healthy scratch for Sunday's Week 16 contest against the Carolina Panthers. Shepard didn't log a snap in last week's loss to the Falcons, as he saw his role disappear with Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan returning from injured reserve. Now, with Tampa Bay carrying only five wide receivers into today's divisional battle with Carolina, Shepard is the odd man out, rather than fellow depth receiver Tez Johnson. Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Emeka Egbuka continue to lead this receiver room, while McMillan and Johnson fill depth roles. Shepard can be dropped in most fantasy leagues.

Thursday, December 25, 3:52 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling is slated to operate as, at worst, the No. 2 option in the team's aerial assault for the remainder of the season. Valdes-Scantling was signed to Pittsburgh's practice squad at the beginning of November, although he hadn't earned a snap until their Week 14 win over the Ravens. Since then, the 31-year-old has pulled in just 2-of-5 targets for 25 yards and a touchdown. However, the veteran is poised for a significant uptick in playing time following teammate DK Metcalf's suspension stemming from an altercation with a fan. Valdes-Scantling doesn't project to see a ton of volume, but he should see some valuable downfield targets. In fact, he just missed hauling in a long TD in Week 16's victory against the Lions. With fellow wideout Calvin Austin III (hamstring) also in danger of missing this Sunday's outing, Valdes-Scantling projects to operate behind Adam Thielen as the team's top two pass-catchers when they square off with the Cleveland Browns.