Who Should I Start? Rashod Bateman or Jameson Williams

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, May 30, 12:41 PM

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell said that the team is expecting wide receiver Jameson Williams "to have a huge season." The Lions are expecting more from Williams after his breakout season in 2024 in which he caught 58 of his 91 targets for 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns in 15 regular-season games (11 starts). The 24-year-old former 12th overall pick in 2022 out of Ohio State battled injuries in his first two NFL seasons and also was hit with a suspension before finally realizing his potential last year. He also had 11 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown as a rusher. While fantasy managers have come to love Williams' big-play potential in one of the highest-scoring offenses in the NFL, it's going to be hard for him to maintain significant targets in an offense that lost offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Detroit could emphasize the deep passing game more often, but Williams will be more of a boom/bust WR3/flex.