Who Should I Start? Troy Franklin or Jaylin Noel

Sunday, August 17, 1:22 PM

Denver Broncos second-year wide receiver Troy Franklin continued to stand out in the team's 27-7 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday in the second week of the preseason. Franklin caught four of his five targets from backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham for 67 yards and two touchdowns. The 22-year-old out of Oregon has received praise from teammates this summer and has now caught nine passes for 85 yards and the two scores in two preseason games. He shared the team lead in catches and targets with rookie Pat Bryant on Saturday. Franklin has shown improvement in training camp going into his sophomore season in th NFL, but competition for targets in Denver behind WR1 Courtland Sutton could be fierce. He caught 28 of his 53 targets for 263 yards and two TDs in 16 regular-season games (six starts) last year and is currently outside RotoBaller's top 100 fantasy wideouts.

Sunday, August 24, 3:49 PM

Houston Texans wide receiver Jaylin Noel finished his preseason with a quiet stat line of three catches for 18 yards and no touchdowns. Despite the limited production, the rookie third-round pick from Iowa State has garnered significant praise from quarterback C.J. Stroud, who told beat writer Jared Koch that the young wideout "looks great" and is "making plays out here every day." While Noel currently sits behind veteran wide receiver Christian Kirk on the depth chart, Kirk is entering his eighth season and is coming off an injury. Given that his Iowa State teammate, Jayden Higgins, appears to have earned a starting role, Noel could also see the field a fair amount this season. Noel is a solid late-round fantasy flier, especially for managers who believe Kirk may be on the downslope of his career.