Who Should I Start? Mike Evans or Rashod Bateman

Monday, January 13, 12:26 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans caught all seven of his targets for 92 yards and one touchdown during Sunday's loss to the Washington Commanders. He once again established himself as the top target for Baker Mayfield, but it wasn't nearly enough as the Buccaneers fell to the Commanders on a last-second field goal. Evans is coming off a storybook 2024 campaign in which he delivered his 11th consecutive 1,000-yard season despite missing three games due to injury. The 31-year-old has cemented himself as a high-end WR2 on a yearly basis, with plenty of weekly appearances in the WR1 range throughout his career. Even as he enters his 12th NFL season with time not on his side, Evans remains a top wide receiver and should be regarded as a high-end WR2 heading into 2025 fantasy football.

Thursday, June 5, 12:03 PM

The Baltimore Ravens and wide receiver Rashod Bateman agreed to a three-year, $36.75 million contract extension on Thursday that includes $20 million guaranteed, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. It's the second straight year that Bateman and the Ravens agreed to an extension after the team gave him a two-year, $12.87 million deal that ran through 2026 last April. Baltimore is rewarding the 25-year-old former 27th overall pick again a year later after his most productive season as a pro in 2024 after he caught 45 of his 72 targets for 756 yards and nine touchdowns in 17 regular-season games (14 starts) in his fourth year in the NFL. It was a nice showing, but Bateman's fantasy ceiling remains rather low with Zay Flowers serving as the WR1 in a run-first offense. The Ravens also now have veteran DeAndre Hopkins, which means Bateman will likely be a boom/bust fantasy commodity.