Who Should I Start? Tyquan Thornton or Jaylin Noel

Wednesday, December 24, 3:39 PM

The Kansas City Chiefs placed wide receiver Tyquan Thornton (concussion) on Injured Reserve on Wednesday, according to Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team. Both Thornton and fellow wideout Rashee Rice (concussion) will miss the final two games of the regular season due to head injuries. The 25-year-old Thornton had some fantasy relevance earlier this season with Xavier Worthy injured and Rice out due to a suspension, but once both pass-catchers returned, he fell down the depth chart as a hard-to-trust deep threat in KC's offense. The former second-rounder will finish his first year in Kansas City with 19 catches on 37 targets for a career-high 438 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games (four starts). Worthy and Marquise Brown will have more opportunities to close out the year, but expectations must be tempered for fantasy managers with third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun set to run KC's offense.

Wednesday, February 11, 9:36 AM

Houston Texans wide receiver Jaylin Noel had a quiet rookie season, in which he finished seventh on the team in targets and was held without a reception through two playoff games, but the 2025 third-round pick at least showed flashes throughout the year. He put up a combined 140 yards in what was his best two-week stretch against the Seahawks and 49ers, but he was unable to build on that success, and he all but lost his role in three-receiver sets when Christian Kirk returned from the hamstring injury that sidelined him for three weeks. The 23-year-old is currently being drafted as an afterthought in dynasty startups, but with Kirk no longer under contract heading into a new league year, there is a strong chance Noel will reclaim primary slot duties, making him a player potentially being slept on heading into 2026.