Who Should I Start? Tyquan Thornton or Arian Smith

Monday, September 15, 12:20 PM

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyquan Thornton scored his first touchdown since Week 17 of 2022 in Sunday's 20-17 loss to the visiting Philadelphia Eagles. The Baylor alum connected with quarterback Patrick Mahomes on just 2-of-5 targets in Week 2, but he made them count -- syncing up on a 49-yard score where the wideout went streaking down the middle of the field. Despite the inefficiency when doing so, Kansas City is using the 25-year-old as their deep threat. He's the perfect specimen for that role with blazing 4.28 40-yard dash speed, and the Chiefs are utilizing three-wide receiver sets frequently. It seems that Xavier Worthy (shoulder) will return sooner than anticipated, so Thornton's elevated snap share might not be for long. Still, he matched Marquise Brown's total of 45 from over the weekend and ran in front of JuJu Smith-Schuster for the first time.

Saturday, September 20, 7:53 AM

New York Jets wide receiver Arian Smith does not project to be a factor this Sunday despite a solid matchup against the hosting Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The rookie wideout picked up a sizable increase in playing time from his first NFL action in Week 1, racking up nearly 50% of the team's snaps (47%) after a measly 10% the week prior. Fellow wideout Josh Reynold's (hamstring) absence from the game was the primary catalyst behind the occurrence, but that will be true again in Week 3. The former Georgia Bulldog is uber-explosive and offers a similar athletic profile to teammate Garrett Wilson. However, targets will be challenging to come by with Wilson lined up across the field in a Jets' offense that prefers to keep the ball on the ground. He lands as RotoBaller's PPR WR121 in Week 3.