Who Should I Start? Tyler Lockett or Allen Lazard

Sunday, March 10, 12:08 AM

The Seattle Seahawks and wide receiver Tyler Lockett agreed on a two-year, $30 million restructured contract on Saturday. The deal includes a maximum value of $34 million, including $13 million guaranteed this year. The restructured deal gives the Seahawks extra cap space with NFL free agency officially beginning on Wednesday. The 31-year-old caught 79 passes for 894 yards and five touchdowns across 17 games in 2023, his lowest yardage output since 2017. Lockett will remain Seattle's No. 2 wideout behind superstar DK Metcalf and compete for targets with first-round pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The veteran wideout is a boom-or-bust fantasy option and a better best-ball pick than standard PPR formats. Lockett is a fantasy WR3 heading into early best-ball drafts in 2024.

Thursday, July 25, 9:20 AM

New York Jets wide receiver Allen Lazard signed a four-year, $44 million contract to join his longtime quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the organization last offseason, but after Rodgers went down with a torn Achilles on the first drive of the year, Lazard had a disastrous campaign. The former undrafted free agent caught just 23 passes for 311 yards and one touchdown in 14 games. With Rodgers back, Jets reporter Rich Cimini labeled Lazard as a potential bounce-back candidate. "Lazard was one of the standouts in the Jets' first practice, making two nifty catches on passes from quarterback Aaron Rodgers," Cimini wrote. "One good practice doesn't equate to a full comeback, but it should do wonders for his confidence. Privately, some in the organization felt he suffered from a confidence problem last season, his first in New York after signing a big free agent deal." With Mike Williams (knee) on the PUP list, Lazard will see extra reps with the first-team offense. Additionally, there's no guarantee that third-round rookie Malachi Corley will start the season ahead of Lazard in the target pecking order. While it's tough to get excited about Lazard's fantasy prospects, his cost outside the top 100 wide receivers makes him worth a dart throw in deep leagues. After all, he has the most chemistry with Rodgers, who is known for being a stickler on familiarly.