Who Should I Start? Zay Flowers or Ladd McConkey

Wednesday, February 11, 6:27 AM

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers arguably had the best season of his young career in 2025, recording 86 receptions for 1,211 yards and five touchdowns on 118 targets across 17 games. Flowers' production is made even more impressive by the fact that he played four games without star Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who missed time with both hamstring and back injuries. Flowers has been a highly consistent pass-catcher so far throughout his three NFL seasons, recording at least 108 targets and 74 catches in each year. His greatest flaws have been red-zone usage, as he's never had more than five touchdown grabs in a season, and target volume, as he's averaging 6.8 targets per contest for his career. However, the Ravens have made major coaching staff changes heading into 2026. Former Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle will take over for former Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, meaning Flowers will be working with a new play-caller for the first time in his NFL career. While there's no guarantee Doyle will drastically change Flowers' role in the offense, there's a chance his presence could help Flowers break through to a new level. Even if Flowers simply repeats his established standards of performance, he profiles as a high-end fantasy WR3 in dynasty formats going forward.

Tuesday, February 17, 4:35 AM

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey had a frustrating second season in the NFL. He caught 66 passes for 789 yards and six touchdowns, ranking as the overall WR30. He wasn't a total bust, but he certainly failed to live up to the expectations he had established after finishing as the WR13 as a rookie in 2024. That same year, he had 1,149 yards and seven touchdowns. Justin Herbert continues to play at a very high level, so we can't blame his regression on poor quarterback play. The Chargers' bottom-tier offensive line could have been a contributing factor, but more likely than not, defenses just started to do a better job game-planning for the former second-round pick now that they had a full year's worth of film on him. Los Angeles replaced offensive coordinator Greg Roman with Mike McDaniel this offseason, which should benefit all of the Chargers' skill players in fantasy football. Additionally, there might be a few extra targets to go around, now that Keenan Allen is headed for free agency. All in all, managers absolutely should not panic about McConkey after the 2025 season. In fact, dynasty managers might be able to buy low on McConkey if his current manager is frustrated by how he played last year.