Who Should I Start? Ihmir Smith-Marsette or LaJohntay Wester

Saturday, August 24, 9:36 PM

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette (ankle) left the team's preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills early on Saturday after landing awkwardly completing a catch in the second quarter. The 24-year-old hauled in 2-of-3 targets for 11 yards while contributing 27 yards on two punt returns and a field-flipping 46 yards on his lone kick return. Smith-Marsette was productive before he picked up the injury and is expected to be the team's returner this upcoming season. Barring the severity of his ankle issue, that could still be the case. It's a bit early to tell how impactful the NFL's new kickoff rules will be come the start of the regular season. However, fantasy managers may want to keep the Iowa product on their radar as a sneaky option, depending on how your league values return yards. His Yahoo! ADP is far down enough that he'd be best suited as a prospective waiver-wire add.

Saturday, July 5, 3:13 PM

In a recent episode of the 'Locked On Ravens' podcast, former Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Qadry Ismail shared his thoughts on sixth-round rookie wideout LaJohntay Wester, noting he could become a valuable weapon for quarterback Lamar Jackson. Wester reportedly took well to punt returns during OTAs, and also made a few plays in the passing game that caught the eye of the former athlete. Ismail also noted that Wester "hasn't looked overwhelmed by anything thrown at him." The 23-year-old broke out during his final season with Florida Atlantic in 2023 (108/1,168/8) but took a slight step back upon his transfer to Colorado in 2024. Baltimore's pass-catching corps isn't one that projects to have much vacant playing time, but the rookie seems bound for at least a role on special teams. He's little more than a deep dynasty stash currently.