Who Should I Start? Brenden Rice or Devaughn Vele

Tuesday, August 27, 7:41 PM

The Los Angeles Chargers announced on Tuesday that rookie wide receiver Brenden Rice and safeties Tony Jefferson and JT Woods were among the players that made the final 53-man roster heading into the 2024 regular season. Rice made the final cut after impressive during training camp and the preseason. The 22-year-old son of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice was taken in the seventh round of April's NFL draft out of USC. He might be worth stashing in deep dynasty/keeper leagues, but for his rookie season, he'll merely be a depth option for the Bolts behind Joshua Palmer, DJ Chark, rookie Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, Simi Fehoko and Derius Davis. Rice excels with his route-running and also plays with a physical style on contested catches down the field. Initially, he might be a red-zone weapon for a new-look Chargers offense in 2024.

Friday, September 13, 9:28 PM

Denver Broncos rookie wide receiver Devaughn Vele (ribs) missed practice all week with an injury to his ribs and was officially ruled out on Friday for the team's Week 2 home opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's extremely disappointing for Vele, who caught all eight of his targets for 39 yards on 49% of the offensive snaps in the Week 1 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The 26-year-old seventh-round selection this year seems to have already built some nice chemistry with fellow rookie quarterback Bo Nix, but he'll have to get healthy first before hoping to carve out a role as the WR3 in Denver in his first year in the NFL. For now, Vele is mostly just a bench stash in deep fantasy leagues and dynasty/keeper formats. Vele's absence on Sunday will create more targets for Courtland Sutton, Josh Reynolds and Marvin Mims Jr. against a tough defense.