Who Should I Start? Xavier Hutchinson or Ihmir Smith-Marsette

Sunday, September 14, 6:57 AM

Houston Texans wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson is once again lined up for an expanded role in Week 2, since Christian Kirk (hamstring) will miss a second straight game when the Texans host the Buccaneers on Monday Night Football. Among the team's wide receivers, Hutchinson ranked second in snaps played and in receiving yards in Week 1, totaling 30 yards on two catches while playing 68% of snaps. He also got a rushing opportunity and added five rushing yards. The Texans' offense couldn't get rolling in Week 1 against the Rams, but they'll work for better results this week against the Bucs. Hutchinson is invovled enough that he could have upside if C.J. Stroud can turn things around going forward. He's a long-shot play to avoid this week, though, since he's ranked as the WR90 in the RotoBaller rankings.

Saturday, August 24, 9:36 PM

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette (ankle) left the team's preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills early on Saturday after landing awkwardly completing a catch in the second quarter. The 24-year-old hauled in 2-of-3 targets for 11 yards while contributing 27 yards on two punt returns and a field-flipping 46 yards on his lone kick return. Smith-Marsette was productive before he picked up the injury and is expected to be the team's returner this upcoming season. Barring the severity of his ankle issue, that could still be the case. It's a bit early to tell how impactful the NFL's new kickoff rules will be come the start of the regular season. However, fantasy managers may want to keep the Iowa product on their radar as a sneaky option, depending on how your league values return yards. His Yahoo! ADP is far down enough that he'd be best suited as a prospective waiver-wire add.