Who Should I Start? Velus Jones or Ihmir Smith-Marsette

Sunday, March 16, 9:25 AM

The New Orleans Saints have signed free-agent wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. to a one-year deal. Jones is a former third-round pick of the Chicago Bears from 2022. He was never able to make much of an impact in Chicago and was waived by the team in October. Jones finished out last season with the Carolina Panthers, but he didn't see much of the field over there. He'll compete for a spot on the 53-man roster in training camp and could serve as a depth option or kick returner if he's able to make the team.

Saturday, August 24, 9:36 PM

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette (ankle) left the team's preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills early on Saturday after landing awkwardly completing a catch in the second quarter. The 24-year-old hauled in 2-of-3 targets for 11 yards while contributing 27 yards on two punt returns and a field-flipping 46 yards on his lone kick return. Smith-Marsette was productive before he picked up the injury and is expected to be the team's returner this upcoming season. Barring the severity of his ankle issue, that could still be the case. It's a bit early to tell how impactful the NFL's new kickoff rules will be come the start of the regular season. However, fantasy managers may want to keep the Iowa product on their radar as a sneaky option, depending on how your league values return yards. His Yahoo! ADP is far down enough that he'd be best suited as a prospective waiver-wire add.