Who Should I Start? Marquise Brown or Rome Odunze

Wednesday, June 18, 2:23 PM

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marquise Brown said he feels 100% healthy entering the 2025 season following an injury-riddled campaign in 2024. The former first-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens suffered a significant shoulder injury last preseason and did not appear in a game until the Week 16 win over the Houston Texans. While his opportunities to show what he can do in Kansas City were limited, he did draw at least five targets in four of his five games, including the postseason. However, he did not share the field with Rashee Rice, who looked like he would be the team's target hog before suffering an early-season knee injury that held him out of the remainder of the year. Brown has missed at least two games in four of his six NFL campaigns, but he remains an intriguing late-round fantasy option in Patrick Mahomes' passing offense. He's unlikely to be a weekly, reliable producer, but he's a fine best-ball dart throw. The Oklahoma product has tallied 322 receptions for 3,735 yards and 28 touchdowns in 74 career games.

Monday, July 14, 7:16 PM

The Athletic's Kevin Fishbain writes that Chicago Bears second-year wide receiver Rome Odunze should be much better in 2025 with a better offensive scheme and improved quarterback play out of Caleb Williams. Fantasy managers were disappointed with Odunze last season after he was taken ninth overall by the Bears out of Washington. However, Fishbain points out that the 23-year-old pass-catcher was fifth among all rookies in receiving yards (734) while catching 53.5% of his targets. He was most definitely inconsistent and scored only three times in 17 games (12 starts), but there remains plenty of upside, and he should be better in new head coach Ben Johnson's offense with Keenan Allen gone. Odunze's after-the-catch abilities and physical prowess make him a nice WR3/flex with upside to target in fantasy drafts.