Who Should I Start? Tee Higgins or C.J. Stroud

Wednesday, October 30, 3:02 PM

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (quad) is not suited up for Wednesday's practice, signifying he will log a "DNP" to begin the week. The 25-year-old was a late addition to the team's injury report last week with a quad injury and did not play in the Week 8 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. It has become a theme for Higgins to miss a few games each season, which is not ideal for fantasy managers and the Cincinnati offense. Higgins was beginning to heat up before suffering the quad injury, racking up at least 60 receiving yards in each of his last four games and scoring three touchdowns during that stretch. In Higgins' absence last week, Andrei Iosivas and Jermaine Burton combined for just one catch on six targets. Meanwhile, tight end Mike Gesicki racked up seven catches for 73 yards on eight targets. Outside of Ja'Marr Chase, none of the Bengals' pass-catchers are sure things to produce if Higgins misses another contest, but it's worth noting the Las Vegas Raiders, the Bengals' Week 9 opponent, present a neutral matchup for tight ends and an unfavorable matchup for wideouts.

Wednesday, October 30, 4:30 PM

Bad luck and bad timing make Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud tough to start in one-QB formats on Thursday against the New York Jets. Despite the Jets being dysfunctional, even for them, they rank second in the NFL in yards after catch allowed and tied for third with six passing touchdowns surrendered in eight games. New York boasts two excellent coverage corners in Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed, and Houston will face them when top wide receivers Nico Collins (hamstring) and Stefon Diggs (knee) are on injured reserve. Backup wide receivers, a short week, and a bad matchup is a lot to dislike, so fantasy managers should strongly consider their other options in Week 9.