Who Should I Start? Tyler Lockett or Josh Downs

Wednesday, December 17, 10:10 PM

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Tyler Lockett (knee) was limited during Wednesday's practice ahead of Week 16 against the Houston Texans. Although managers are concerned to see Lockett on the injury report, they should feel encouraged that he was able to get on the field in some capacity on Wednesday. He has a decent chance to log a full session later this week, but even if he remains limited the whole time, he'll have a solid opportunity to suit up against the Texans. Lockett handled a season-high 76% snap share last week, catching two of his four targets for 10 yards in the Raiders' Kenny Pickett-led offense. Geno Smith should return to the starting quarterback role in Week 16, offering a minor bump to Lockett's fantasy value. Still, he ranks as a low-end WR3/flex only in very deep fantasy leagues.

Tuesday, December 16, 12:43 PM

In 44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers' first NFL game in five years with the Indianapolis Colts in Sunday's 18-16 loss to the hosting Seattle Seahawks, wide receiver Josh Downs caught his lone touchdown pass. Downs played a season-high 72% of the offensive snaps in Week 15 in Rivers' first game replacing Daniel Jones, who is out for the year with a torn Achilles. The 24-year-old wideout was tied for second on the team with five targets, catching three of them for only 13 yards and his fourth touchdown of the year. All in all, it wasn't anything special for fantasy football production, but it was notable that Downs tied Michael Pittman Jr. in targets, with Alec Pierce seeing just one look from Rivers. With Rivers shotputting balls to his receivers, Downs could become a more attractive short-area target over Pierce to close out the season, making him worth a look off the waiver wire as WR depth. Downs is rostered in 43% of Yahoo leagues.