Who Should I Start? DeMario Douglas or Jack Bech

Tuesday, July 15, 2:00 PM

Patriots.com's Evan Lazar writes that along with wide receiver Stefon Diggs (knee), New England Patriots pass-catchers DeMario Douglas and third-round rookie Kyle Williams are "locks" to make the 53-man roster. Mack Hollins also has a very strong chance of making the team. Douglas, 24, was the highest-rated Patriots receiver in ESPN's receiver score metric, finishing 25th among qualified pass-catchers. He had 66 catches for 621 yards and three touchdowns on 87 targets in his second NFL season and is set to reprise his role in the slot for the Pats in 2025. A lot of Douglas' early-season fantasy value will depend on whether Diggs is ready to start the regular season or not, and if he is, how effective he'll be. Douglas should see enough volume to be worth a late-round PPR flier in deeper leagues, but the Patriots also have much more competition at the position than they did a year ago.

Tuesday, July 22, 9:52 PM

Las Vegas Raiders rookie wide receiver Jack Bech "has some work to do to make up ground" in the battle for a starting role next to veteran Jakobi Meyers, according to Tashan Reed. Reed writes that Bech is competing with fellow rookie Dont'e Thornton and third-year speedster Tre Tucker for playing time. He also notes that Thornton stood out in offseason workouts and that Tucker worked ahead of Bech during OTAs. The Raiders drafted Bech in the second round out of TCU in April. He recorded 62 catches for 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns in 12 games for the Horned Frogs in 2024. Bech is known as a slot receiver, but he's blocked by Meyers and star tight end Brock Bowers for that role in Las Vegas. He's still an intriguing late-round dart throw in re-draft leagues due to his talent and draft pedigree, but it appears Bech has improvements to make before he can be counted on for fantasy production.