Who Should I Start? Tyler Higbee or Ian Thomas

Wednesday, February 28, 4:37 PM

Los Angeles Rams tight end Tyler Higbee (knee) suffered a torn ACL in the team's Wild Card loss to the Detroit Lions on January 14, and he has undergone surgery to repair it. However, Rams general manager Les Snead said the veteran's timeline to return is "still unclear." The 31-year-old caught 47 passes for 495 yards and two touchdowns in his eighth NFL season (2023), marking his quietest statistical year since 2018. Given his major injury late in the year, he's likely to begin the 2024 campaign on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list, which would mean he'd have to miss at least the first four games of the season. Regardless of his health, he has limited fantasy upside while sharing a field with Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp for the foreseeable future. His peak fantasy value has likely come and gone.

Sunday, April 7, 1:31 PM

The Athletic's Bruce Feldman predicts that the Arizona Cardinals will trade down to pick No. 11 in a swap with the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of this year's NFL draft to take LSU wide receiver BrIan Thomas. The 21-year-old pass-catcher has been in the shadow of fellow wideout Malik Nabers, but he was terrific at the scouting combine in February to raise his draft stock tremendously. He also had 68 receptions for 1,177 yards and led the FBS with 17 touchdowns in 2023. "Potentially, I think can be really good in the NFL. He was a red zone nightmare. Even if you were in great position, he could still win those 50-50 balls. But he didn't scare you with (yards after catch) like Nabers did," one coach said. Adding another receiving weapon for quarterback Kyler Murray makes a lot of sense, especially when considering Arizona's top-three receivers are currently Michael Wilson, Chris Moore and Greg Dortch.