Who Should I Start? Deebo Samuel or Jaylen Waddle

Thursday, July 25, 2:24 PM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. looked slimmer during spring drills than he had last year, and he appears to have lost even more weight for the start of training camp. "I think he looks great," head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the offense took its first snaps in 11-on-11 drills. "I thought he looked great in OTAs and minicamp. And I think he looks better today." The 49ers are practicing without two wideouts, Brandon Aiyuk and first-round pick Ricky Pearsall (hamstring), so Samuel's fantasy draft stock remains in a state of flux until a clearer picture emerges of how this receiving corps might look for the start of the regular season. The 28-year-old Pro Bowl wideout totaled 12 touchdowns in 15 appearances in 2023, placing second at his position in PPR fantasy points per route run (0.67) and first in fantasy points per target (2.74) over 89 targets, and he's being treated as a WR1 bet at his second-round ADP this summer.

Thursday, May 30, 10:17 AM

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle is signing a three-year contract extension worth up to $84.75 million that includes $76 million guaranteed, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The $28.25 million average salary ranks fourth among NFL wideouts, trailing only A.J. Brown, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Tyreek Hill. Since entering the league as a first-round pick in 2021 out of Alabama, Waddle has hauled in 251 of his 361 targets for 3,385 yards and 18 touchdowns. He's caught at least 72 passes and racked up 1,000-plus yards in each of his first three campaigns. Although he is the clear No. 2 wide receiver in Miami behind Hill, he remains a strong fantasy football asset with WR1 upside in an explosive passing offense. Last season marked his first year without a WR1 finish, but he should bounce back after setting career lows on catches, yards, and touchdowns. He's a screaming value at his low-end WR2 price tag in early fantasy drafts.