In fantasy football, deciding which player to go to in your Flex or WR3/4 slot can make the difference in a win or a loss. At this point in the season, we need to get every win we can, so let’s find out if we should start Tyler Boyd or Brandin Cooks this week.
Tyler Boyd Fantasy Outlook This Week
There is some uncertainty in the receivers’ room for the Cincinnati Bengals at the moment, with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins both nursing some kind of injury. I believe both will suit up in Week 10 against the Houston Texans, but Boyd has received more looks lately due to these injuries.
Boyd is averaging 4.3 catches for 44.7 yards with a respectable 13.8% target share over his last three games. We have Boyd ranked as the No. 42 wide receiver this week, so we should consider him a Flex or WR3/4 play.
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The Bengals are on a roll, winning their last four games, including big wins against the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers. This week’s matchup against the Texans is brutal, though, as they rank as the No. 3 fantasy defense against wide receivers.
Furthermore, teams generally don’t have to pass the ball much because they can run all over Houston. This is more of a Joe Mixon game, as Houston is a run-funnel type of defense for fantasy purposes.
Brandin Cooks Fantasy Outlook This Week
It seems Cooks keeps getting traded every year, and he keeps producing — until now. This year’s production is by far his worst, as he seems to be the third or fourth read on most plays. Cooks is averaging 2.7 catches for 30.7 yards in the last three games (he also scored twice), as the Dallas Cowboys have not been able to unlock his downfield speed.
Cooks has a minuscule 9.3% target share but has found the end zone in two of the last three games. He’s coming off a miserable one-catch, seven-yard performance, but this week’s matchup against the 28th-ranked New York Giants defense (for fantasy wide receivers) should be the salve to all that ails Cooks and the rest of the Cowboys.
I see Cooks as Flex with some upside this week as I see him as the best chance of any Dallas weapon not named CeeDee Lamb to get behind the Giants’ safeties.
Should You Start Boyd or Cooks This Week?
I focus solely on upside potential when deciding which fringe starter I want to play. I want my WR3/4 or flex play to have a chance at winning the week for me.
In the Pro Football Network Start/Sit Optimizer, PFN’s Consensus Rankings say that Boyd is the player to start. His projected 9.2 points include a projection of 3.2 receptions and 42.7 yards. That doesn’t seem like a big stat line; it barely outperforms the consensus projection for Cooks (9.0 points).
However, when you isolate my rankings, I see Cooks outperforming Boyd because of his superior matchup in Week 10, and his chance at a week-winning score is one that I don’t see Boyd having.
Looking to make a trade in your fantasy league? Having trouble deciding who to start and who to sit? Setting DFS lineups? Check out PFN’s Free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer, Start/Sit Optimizer, and DFS Lineup Optimizer to help you make the right decision!