Who Should I Start? Terry McLaurin or Michael Pittman Jr.

Friday, December 20, 7:14 PM

Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin should be viewed as a top-12 option in Week 16 when he faces the Philadelphia Eagles in a pivotal NFC East clash. McLaurin is carrying a three-game touchdown streak into this matchup. In his past two games, he has found the end zone twice in each of them. Since Week 3, the Ohio State product has averaged a stellar 18.3 PPR points per game with 77.5 yards per game. McLaurin is on track to post his fifth-straight 1,000-yard campaign. However, he has a difficult task ahead of him this weekend, facing the Philadelphia Eagles, who have allowed the fewest PPR points to opposing wideouts this season. In their previous Week 11 matchup, the Eagles held McLaurin to just one reception. Despite his struggles last time, fantasy managers should feel confident starting him in all formats as a WR1, given his strong production all season. In addition, with Noah Brown (kidney) on the IR and Zach Ertz (concussion) questionable, McLaurin could even see a higher target share in this matchup.

Friday, December 20, 10:52 PM

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. was a full participant in practice on Friday. The 27-year-old did not practice on Wednesday, but was back to a full participant the following two sessions to close out the week. The 6-foot-4 wideout has dealt with back issues seemingly all season long, but it has cost him just one week of playing time. The former second-round draft pick has been Anthony Richardson's preferred target in the passing game over the last four weeks since being reinstated as the starting QB, averaging over five catches per contest, albeit for just 60 yards per game. The fifth-year pro hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 6, which happened to be against his Week 16 opponent, the Tennessee Titans. Although he found paydirt in that first meeting, he did so on just three catches for 35 yards. With the Titans allowing the fifth-fewest fantasy points to opposing receivers and with Richardson completing less than 50% of his passes on the season, expectations for Sunday's divisional showdown should be tempered. While the Colts are 3.5-point favorites in this one, there is a low expected total of 42.5 and Pittman Jr. projects as a WR4 this week, so hopefully fantasy managers have other options.