Who Should I Start? Ja'Marr Chase or Ladd McConkey

Sunday, September 14, 6:37 PM

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase bounced back in a major way during Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Chase was quiet in the season opener with only two receptions for 26 yards. He looked much more like himself during Sunday's Week 2 contest. Chase hauled in 14 of his 16 targets for 165 yards and a touchdown in the win. Surprisingly, a majority of Chase's production came after Joe Burrow (toe) exited the game. Jake Browning was able to find Chase with ease throughout the second half. The expectation is that Burrow is going to miss multiple weeks due to a turf toe issue. His absence should decrease the value of Chase, but clearly Browning and Chase do have good chemistry. Even without Burrow, Chase is a locked-in WR1 for Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings.

Wednesday, September 17, 6:20 PM

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey (biceps) is on the Week 3 injury report and was listed as a non-participant at Wednesday's practice. It could help explain why McConkey wasn't all that involved in the Monday night win over the Las Vegas Raiders, when he caught all five of his targets for 48 yards. In the season-opening win over the Kansas City Chiefs, the second-year pass-catcher caught six of nine targets for 74 yards. McConkey is a must-start each week in fantasy lineups if he's active, especially with quarterback Justin Herbert looking strong early in 2025, but his status will be worth monitoring going into Sunday's divisional tilt in Week 3 against the Denver Broncos. If McConkey is unable to play this weekend, Keenan Allen and Quentin Johnston will both draw more targets, as will rookie Tre' Harris. The return of Allen and the emergence of Johnston, who has three touchdowns in two games, has certainly lowered McConkey's fantasy ceiling so far.