Who Should I Start? Laviska Shenault Jr. or Xavier Smith

Sunday, July 27, 6:30 PM

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. (leg) was activated off the active/non-football injury list on Sunday. The wideout was battling a lower leg strain, forcing him to miss the first four practices of training camp. He signed with the Bills in March after making stops in Jacksonville, Carolina, Seattle, and Los Angeles (Chargers) since being selected in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He had a decent rookie campaign, finding the end zone five times. However, Shenault has only had two touchdowns ever since. Keon Coleman and Joshua Palmer have both looked good during training camp, and Khalil Shakir doesn't appear to be in jeopardy of losing his spot on the depth chart. With that in mind, Shenault will have work to do in order to get meaningful snaps throughout the season. For now, he's not worth drafting in any fantasy format.

Saturday, August 16, 11:52 PM

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Xavier Smith caught all four of his targets for 48 receiving yards during Saturday's preseason victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. He also rushed for five yards. Smith has been quite productive this summer. He paced the team with 55 receiving yards last week, and he now has a total of eight touches and 108 scrimmage yards through two preseason contests. NFL opportunities have been few and far between for the 27-year-old Florida A&M product, but he did total six receiving yards, 36 rushing yards, and a pair of first downs in 2024. Los Angeles' first four wide receiver spots are essentially locked up, which means they only have two or three spots to divide over seven remaining receivers (Smith, Tru Edwards, Mario Williams, Konata Mumpfield, Drake Stoops, Britain Covey, and Brennan Presley).