Who Should I Start? Rashod Bateman or Jack Bech

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.

Friday, July 18, 10:11 AM

The Las Vegas Raiders and rookie wide receiver Jack Bech have come to terms on a four-year contract, according to Tashan Reed of The Athletic. Bech was one of the many second-round selections in this year's draft who had extended rookie-contract negotiations. However, it appears that he'll be in camp when the Raiders begin full-team activities on July 22. Bech played two years in college at LSU before transferring to TCU for his final two collegiate seasons. He had a breakout senior campaign in 2024, recording 62 catches for 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns in 12 games played. He'll be competing with third-year receiver Tre Tucker and fellow rookies Dont'e Thornton Jr. and Tommy Mellott for the WR2 job in Las Vegas behind veteran Jakobi Meyers. Opportunity exists for Bech to emerge as a fantasy-relevant rookie, so it's positive news that he'll have a full training camp to build chemistry with Raiders quarterback Geno Smith.