There’s a strong chance that fantasy owners ended up with DJ Moore and Adam Thielen on their rosters, especially so if they are fans of the Carolina Panthers who miss Moore’s presence on their offense. If that’s the case, they may be faced with a difficult question this week. Between the two, who should start?
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Is DJ Moore a good pick in fantasy football?
DJ Moore has proven to be a very good fantasy wide receiver this season. He’s top 10 in points, and he’s had a few incredible games. The lack of stability at quarterback has hurt him, though.
As modest as Tyson Bagent has played, Justin Fields is better and is better at getting Moore the ball. Bagent liked feeding Cole Kmet, and Fields likes to push the ball to Moore. That bodes well if Fields can return this week, which is the expectation.
Moore is facing the 22nd-ranked opposing defense for wide receivers in fantasy this week. The Detroit Lions could build a big lead and force Chicago to throw a lot, which could end in a big game for Moore.
Is Adam Thielen a good pick in fantasy football?
For a while, Adam Thielen was either the steal of the draft or the waiver wire pick up of the year. Even still, he’s been an excellent and surprisingly good player. His performance has tanked in the last couple of weeks, but he’s still the only player Bryce Young can trust to be remotely open and to hold on to the pass.
That means a lot in fantasy. The Dallas Cowboys are a talented defense, although they are missing star cornerback Trevon Diggs. In the intermediate and short range, where Thielen excels, the Panthers could look to move the ball by dinking and dunking that way as they have struggled with downfield action all season.
On one of the worst passing teams in the entire league, Thielen is a lone bright spot. Given the gulf in talent between these two teams, expect a blowout that forces the Carolina Panthers to throw. If they’re throwing, Thielen is probably getting most of the targets.
DJ Moore vs Adam Thielen: Who should I start?
Our fantasy football start/sit analyzer suggests that Adam Thielen is the better player to go with this time around. While he does face a particularly challenging defense, there’s almost no way the Panthers aren’t passing almost exclusively from the get go.
The Cowboys run defense is decent, but they will likely get out to an early lead and force Carolina to become one-dimensional. That’s bad news for Panthers fans, but it could be good news for Thielen owners. He is a usage player now and much of his production comes from being the only reliable player on that offense.
If Bryce Young is passing the ball, he’s likely looking to Thielen. It may only be for a maximum of 15 yards at a time, but Thielen could easily have a 10-catch, 100-yard day. That’s valuable, especially with DJ Moore having questions at quarterback.
