Who Should I Start? Zay Flowers or Rome Odunze

Saturday, December 13, 11:11 AM

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers finally returned to WR1 territory last week for the first time since his Week 1 outburst against the Buffalo Bills. Even though he finally broke the streak of non-WR1 finishes, he still hasn't found the end zone since the first game of the season. The encouraging part is that he received 11 targets against the Pittsburgh Steelers and hauled in eight of those for 124 yards. Their Week 15 opponent, the Cincinnati Bengals, have been a bit more stingy to opposing receivers in fantasy this year. The Bengals rank as the toughest defense against the position over the last four weeks, giving up an average of 15.13 fantasy points per game. The last time Flowers faced the Bengals in Week 13, he finished as the WR106. He projects as a low-end WR2 in this matchup, but it probably doesn't feel great for fantasy managers that need him.

Wednesday, December 17, 3:30 PM

Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze (foot) missed another practice on Wednesday, according to Scott Bair of the Marquee Sports Network. Odunze also missed Tuesday's session and looks to be on track to miss a third straight game due to a stress fracture in his foot. Head coach Ben Johnson hinted earlier this week that the 23-year-old second-year pass-catcher could be shut down in the final three weeks of the regular season so that the team can have him closer to full strength for the playoffs. After a strong start to the season, Odunze has been a disappointment to fantasy managers in the second half, and he's likely to be ruled out for Saturday's divisional tilt against the Green Bay Packers unless he returns to practice on Thursday. Rookie Luther Burden III (ankle) has yet to practice this week, either, so Olamide Zaccheaus and Devin Duvernay, in addition to rookie tight end Colston Loveland, could be in for bigger roles this weekend behind DJ Moore if both Odunze and Burden cannot play.