Who Should I Start? Tre Tucker or Devaughn Vele

Tuesday, November 4, 2:57 PM

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Tre Tucker is now the de facto No. 1 wideout for a Raiders team that dealt Jakobi Meyers to the Jaguars on Tuesday. While tight end Brock Bowers will be the clear focal point of this offense as long as he's healthy, Tucker is the most likely candidate to benefit from Meyer's vacated 6.9 targets per game. Newly acquired veteran Tyler Lockett also has familiarity with head coach Pete Carroll and was on the field for nearly a third of the team's offensive snaps in his first game as a Raider. Meanwhile, rookie wide receivers Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton have both struggled to hold onto any meaningful role. Thornton was a healthy inactive for Sunday's loss to the Jaguars, while Bech was relegated entirely to special teams. Even with Bowers back and healthy, this Raiders offense, led by Geno Smith, may prove difficult to trust down the stretch. However, Tucker represents the most appealing secondary option and should be added wherever he's still available.

Tuesday, November 4, 3:35 PM

The New Orleans Saints shipped wide receiver Rashid Shaheed to the Seattle Seahawks at Tuesday's NFL trade deadline, meaning that Devaughn Vele will have a shot at WR2 duties for the Saints, starting in Week 10 against the division-rival Carolina Panthers this Sunday. Veteran Brandin Cooks should also see an expanded role behind No. 1 Chris Olave. Still, despite the expected playing-time boost for Vele, he's probably only worth a waiver-wire pickup in deeper fantasy leagues in a Saints offense that is averaging just 15.3 points per game, which is second-worst in the NFL. Vele played 29% of the offensive snaps in the Week 9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams and wasn't targeted at all by rookie quarterback Tyler Shough in the passing game. The former seventh-rounder by the Denver Broncos in 2024 out of Utah has five catches for 39 yards and one touchdown in his eight games in New Orleans this year.