Who Should I Start? Trishton Jackson or Ihmir Smith-Marsette

Friday, August 18, 9:45 AM

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Trishton Jackson has been making a strong case to win a spot on the 53-man roster. The 25-year-old worked with the first-team offense during Thursday's joint practice. It appears he's back to full speed after suffering a knee injury earlier in training camp. He has mainly been getting increased reps due to the fact Jordan Addison (concussion) is sidelined right now. Jackson is making the most of his chances and could earn that final wideout spot. However, there's a good chance he ends up on the practice squad, so it's unlikely Jackson will provide fantasy value this season.

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.