Who Should I Start? Ja'Marr Chase or Puka Nacua

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.

Thursday, June 27, 4:16 PM

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua came out of nowhere and delivered arguably the greatest season for a rookie pass-catcher ever. The BYU product caught 105 passes for 1,486 yards and six touchdowns in the regular season and posted 181 yards in his first playoff game. However, the Rams believe he's in better shape and could make strides in Year 2. "His body is totally different," wide receiver coach Eric Yarber said. "He looks just like Cooper. He's lost so much body fat and gained so much lean muscle, which enabled him to move more efficiently now. And he has better body control. But he did exactly what I said. And you're seeing some of the results right now." The 23-year-old was a top-four wideout in PPR leagues last season, and it sounds like he's doing the right things to remain a fantasy football WR1. Although he might see some regression with a fully healthy Cooper Kupp, he should maintain his spike-week upside.