Who Should I Start? Tyquan Thornton or Ainias Smith

Saturday, January 6, 12:10 AM

New England Patriots wide receiver Tyquan Thornton (ankle) popped up on the team's injury report after being limited in Friday's practice due to an ankle injury. The 23-year-old is one of 12 Patriots tagged as questionable for their Week 18 game against the New York Jets. Thornton caught three passes for a season-high 24 yards in the wake of DeVante Parker's (ribs) early exit from Week 17 due to injury. Parker himself was a limited participant in practice all week and is also questionable for Sunday's contest. If he is held out of the season finale, Thornton may see a slight increase in work but will still have little, if any, fantasy value.

Saturday, March 2, 3:03 PM

During an NFL combine medical evaluation, doctors found that Texas A&M wide receiver Ainias Smith (shin) has a stress fracture in his left shin, according to sources. Smith won't work out at the combine in Indianapolis this weekend and will visit with a specialist next week. The 22-year-old wideout's after-the-catch abilities make him an intriguing prospect at the NFL level, but unfortunately, this injury will cause his draft stock to fall ahead of April's draft. In addition to the stress fracture that was discovered this week, Ainias fractured his leg in 2022. With a new leg fracture to consider, Smith has quickly become a pretty big injury risk for the upcoming NFL draft.