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

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.

Thursday, July 25, 3:04 PM

Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase is not practicing on Thursday for the second consecutive day. He was seen standing on the sidelines in uniform but with no helmet. It appears to be a "hold in" for Chase, who is seeking a new contract as he enters his fourth season with the Bengals. He's scheduled to make $1 million in base salary this season and $4.86 million overall, but general manager Mike Brown didn't make it sound imminent that an agreement on an extension would be reached this week. The 24-year-old superstar wideout remains a consensus top-five pick in fantasy drafts this summer, and it's not time to adjust his ADP for this development quite yet. Last year, Chase closed as the WR11 overall in full-PPR fantasy points per game (16.4) over 16 appearances for Cincinnati.