Who Should I Start? Tyquan Thornton or Xavier Hutchinson

Saturday, September 6, 9:09 AM

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyquan Thornton was given a larger opportunity on Friday evening during their contest against the Chargers, following the injury to top wideout Xavier Worthy. Worthy suffered a shoulder injury in the opening quarter, which paved the way for Thornton to have a significant role in the season opener. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes looked his way four times, but he was only able to bring in two of them for 41 yards. His longest catch of the evening came on a 38-yard pass. While Mahomes looked his way downfield, Thornton was unable to connect consistently. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor Worthy's status, as Thornton could emerge as the team's primary deep threat if he were to miss an extended period of time. However, he will be tough to trust in most formats as he will likely slot in as the No. 3 WR in the offense, behind Marquise Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Friday, September 5, 10:57 PM

Houston Texans wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson earned more playing time with a big training camp, and he could have a chance to secure a bigger role moving forward since the team will be without Christian Kirk (hamstring) for Week 1. Hutchinson finished last season with four catches for 52 yards in the playoff loss to the Chiefs, but the sixth-round pick from 2023 only has 20 catches for 207 receiving yards and no touchdowns in 32 games over his first two seasons. In camp, Hutchinson was operating as the team's third receiver behind only Kirk and Nico Collins, working ahead of rookies Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins. Without Kirk, he could have a chance to step up in Week 1 if the rookies aren't ready, even though he's in a tough matchup on the road against the Rams. He's the WR86 in RotoBaller's Week 1 rankings, so he's still a deep sleeper but does bring upside worth watching.