Who Should I Start? Laviska Shenault Jr. or Ihmir Smith-Marsette

Friday, March 14, 8:56 AM

The Buffalo Bills have signed free-agent wide receiver/kicker returner Laviska Shenault Jr. to an undisclosed deal. Shenault most recently played 12 games between the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Chargers last season. He hasn't done much in the receiving game with five receptions for 36 yards over those 12 games last season. Shenault is better known for his kick returning ability as he averaged nearly 30 yards per return in 2024. He is still capable of making the occasional slash play on offense, but will likely be used mainly as a returner in Buffalo.

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.