Who Should I Start? Tank Dell or Ihmir Smith-Marsette

Wednesday, September 24, 11:15 AM

Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell (knee) will technically be eligible to be activated off the reserve/physically unable to perform list following his team's Week 4 matchup against the Tennessee Titans. However, there's been no indication from the team that he's nearing a return to the field. That's not surprising, considering Dell dislocated his knee and tore three major ligaments in December 2024. The most likely scenario remains that Dell will miss the entirety of the 2025 season. Veteran wideout Christian Kirk has replaced Dell's role in Houston's offense, and Kirk hauled in three catches for 25 yards on eight targets in his season debut in Week 3.

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.