Who Should I Start? Rashod Bateman or Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Wednesday, April 24, 2:11 PM

The Baltimore Ravens signed wide receiver Rashod Bateman to an undisclosed contract extension on Wednesday that ties him to the team through the 2026 season. Bateman was able to stay healthy in 2023, but he was overshadowed by rookie first-rounder Zay Flowers and finished with a disappointing 32 catches for 367 yards and just one touchdown on 56 targets in 16 regular-season games (12 starts) in his third year in the league. The 24-year-old former 27th overall pick in 2021 out of Minnesota hasn't lived up to his first-round billing and has found the end zone just four times in three years. The Ravens continue to say that Bateman is going to have a bigger role in the passing attack in 2024, but fantasy managers will want to see it before they believe it.

Monday, January 8, 5:25 AM

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught three of his five targets for 14 yards in Sunday's win over the Arizona Cardinals. The receptions were tied with tight ends Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson for the team lead but made for a quiet end to a modest debut season for the Ohio State product. Selected 20th overall in the 2023 draft, there were hopes that Smith-Njigba would replicate the first-year successes of his former college teammates Garrett Wilson and Christian Olave. As it was, Smith-Njigba proved to be firmly entrenched as the third receiver on Seattle's depth chart and was probably lucky to see the amount of work that he did. His production was also hindered by the routes designed for him, as his average depth of target of 5.8 yards was among the lowest in the league. His rookie year will conclude with 63 receptions for 628 yards and four touchdowns in 17 games.