Who Should I Start? Tyler Lockett or Rome Odunze

Sunday, December 28, 7:59 PM

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Tyler Lockett tallied two receptions and nine yards off his three targets during Sunday's 34-10 loss to the New York Giants in Week 17. The veteran wide receiver's fantasy day was saved by his reception in the back of the end zone on a quarterback Geno Smith (ankle) scramble late in the third quarter. Lockett was competing for targets with the fourth-round rookie wide receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr., but the Raiders' offense struggled to sustain drives or keep a clean pocket against the Giants' defense. If rookie wide receiver Jack Bech (back), who was a late addition to the Week 17 injury report and was ruled out before kickoff on Sunday, Lockett should resume his part-time WR3 role in Week 18 against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs' defense is a bottom-10 matchup for opposing wide receivers, keeping Lockett in deep-league WR4/Flex territory heading into the final game of the 2025 season.

Monday, January 19, 2:24 PM

Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze (foot) reiterated that he will not need offseason surgery on his foot, according to Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times. Odunze had a stress fracture in his foot that caused him to miss the final five games of the regular season. He returned for Chicago's two playoff games to catch exactly two passes for 44 yards in both contests. The 23-year-old second-year wideout was a popular breakout candidate in fantasy going into the 2025 season, and he was well on his way to fulfilling that with five touchdown catches in the first four games. However, Odunze quickly cooled off and scored only one more time in his final 10 games. His foot injury likely had something to do with that. Odunze will look to bounce back in 2026 with better health, but his fantasy ceiling could be capped with the emergence of young receiver Luther Burden III and tight end Colston Loveland.