Who Should I Start? Cooper Kupp or Ja'Marr Chase

Wednesday, May 28, 10:14 PM

The Athletic's Michael-Shawn Dugar writes that new Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp could work underneath in the middle of the field in his first year with the team, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba serving as the big-play threat deeper down the field. Kupp and Smith-Njigba have overlapping skill sets, and general manager John Schneider said the use of tight splits will make the two wideouts hard to defend. Seattle could align JSN more out wide as opposed to in the slot, where he spent 77.4% of his snaps last season. Smith-Njigba led all receivers in yards (956) and catches (79) from the slot in a breakout campaign. It will be interesting to see how offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak uses both Kupp and Smith-Njigba in 2025. Kupp is on the wrong side of 30 and has missed five or more games three seasons in a row due to injuries. JSN has the higher ceiling, and we can't count on a ton of volume from Kupp at this point in his career.

Sunday, March 16, 11:33 PM

The Cincinnati Bengals signed wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase to a four-year, $161 million deal with $112 million guaranteed on Sunday to make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, according to FOX Sports' Jordan Schultz. The 25-year-old All-Pro wideout is now under contract with the Bengals for the next five years for $182.816 million. The former fifth overall pick in 2021 out of LSU was deserving of the record contract after leading the league in receptions (127), receiving yards (1,708), touchdowns (17) and yards per game (100.5) in 17 games (16 starts) for the Bengals in his fourth year in the league in 2024. Chase has now been a Pro Bowler in each of his four years in the NFL and has put up at least 1,046 yards and seven touchdowns every year. With Tee Higgins also coming back and with Joe Burrow throwing him the football, Chase will be the unquestioned top receiver in fantasy this fall.