Who Should I Start? Cooper Kupp or Calvin Ridley

Saturday, June 29, 1:27 PM

ESPN's Sarah Barshop lists Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp as one of the team's most surprising offseason standouts, which even she admits is odd. Kupp, who was the 2021 receiving triple-crown winner, has played through significant injuries in each of the past two seasons. He finished 2023 with 59 catches for 737 yards and five touchdowns, his fewest receiving yards since 2018, when he played in only eight games. However, Kupp is healthy this offseason, and it showed on the practice field. Head coach Sean McVay said during organized team activities that he doesn't think "anyone really understands the amount of things [Kupp was] working through last season" with his injury and that the receiver has been able to build his body "from the ground up." Fantasy managers shouldn't be expecting the 2021 version of Kupp anymore, especially with Puka Nacua in the fold, but if he's healthy, he can still deliver value as a low-end WR2/high-end WR3 in 2024.

Tuesday, March 26, 2:09 PM

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley is expected to see a lot of targets in his first year with the team in 2024. "You're looking at a very similar role to what Ja'Marr Chase played," Titans head coach Brian Callahan said. The new Titans head coach previously coached Chase as the offensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals. Ridley might not be the overall talent that Chase is, but his fantasy price is going to go up considerably if the Titans indeed use Ridley similarly to how Chase is used in Cincinnati. With the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023, the 29-year-old was mostly used as a deep threat on the outside and finished with the second 1,000-yard season of his career and eight touchdowns in 17 starts. If he's running more intermediate routes out of the slot in 2024, Ridley's fantasy ceiling could be even higher.