A.J. Brown vs Rashee Rice

“There’s no doubting Brown’s talent; however, I do wonder if the way to replace a slot receiver (Diggs) that was the key piece of your offense is to add a physical outside receiver like Brown. There are also my concerns about his knee in the long term.”

“At 28, Brown is a big upgrade for a Patriots passing game that ranked fifth in the league, a huge improvement from the Eagles’ 27th-ranked unit.”

“A.J. Brown was the round two pick, built on a significant situational upgrade. His new offense ranked ninth in neutral passing rate last year, compared to his old offense’s 15th-ranked mark, and that gap could widen further with continued quarterback development, a new star receiver alongside him, and a tougher schedule that should force more passing.”

“Even in a “down” season, Brown topped 1,000 yards receiving on a run-first offense and scored seven touchdowns. In ESPN’s open score and PFF’s receiving grade — both metrics that seek to evaluate a wide receiver’s performance even if he’s not targeted on a passing play — Brown ranked No. 9 and No. 13 out of over a hundred wideouts.”

“Getting AJ Brown, who was the WR5 over the final seven games of 2025, cannot hurt Maye. All three Ballers think he is a receiver who could truly finish as the WR1 overall.”

“Brown gives Drake Maye the true alpha this offense needed. Now he climbed into Maye's draft pocket, and while he can still pay off pick 16, the price feels closer to stacking tax than pure value.”

“Andrew Erickson isn't worried about A.J. Brown's "down" season. He believes it created a buying opportunity. Despite modest touchdown totals last year, Brown still produced at a high level while commanding an elite target share. Erickson expects Josh McDaniels to feature Brown as the unquestioned focal point of New England's passing attack. If that happens, Brown could easily return to top-three fantasy wide receiver production.”

“A.J. Brown and Dallas Goedert each missed just one game due to injury. Brown has since been traded.”

“Repeating a first-place ranking in both categories is unlikely, and it will be even more challenging if the offensive line can't take a step forward in protecting Maye, even with A.J. Brown added to the receiver room.”

“Since entering the league in 2019, Brown has consistently demonstrated an ability to rack up massive yards after the catch (YAC) numbers, but has never been a true volume-based receiver. If one were to remove his totals for the 2023 season (which was an outlier), Brown averaged fewer than 70 receptions per season.”

“The analysts believe fantasy managers may be underestimating just how much upside exists in A.J. Brown's new situation. Derek Brown pointed to improvements in offensive philosophy and red-zone passing opportunities as reasons for optimism, and there was confidence that Brown remains one of the league's premier target earners.”

“In a putrid Eagles' passing attack last season, Brown was ninth in target share, 13th in air yards and eighth in red-zone target share. Now he moves to a team with an ascending passing quarterback and an offense that targets its receivers downfield.”

“Rashee Rice (WR – KC) Taking Rashee Rice here as my WR2 is much more comfortable than relying on him as my WR1”

“Furthermore, Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy have dealt with injuries in their careers, putting Allen one injury away from a starting role in a Patrick Mahomes-led offense”

“Rashee Rice faces a potential suspension, Cyrus Allen is dealing with a shin injury, and Xavier Worthy hurt his shoulder.”

“I had my eye on Bowers, but this felt like a spot to roll the dice on Rashee Rice. I know he’s had a plethora of off-field issues, but when he’s on the field, he’s constantly targeted. Last season, in limited time, Rice had a target share of about 30% while on the field.”

“20 come from two buckets: Hyper-specified role players (Stefon Diggs, Rashee Rice) Guys with other top 24 or strong ancillary target competition (Both Rams WRs, Jameson Williams, CeeDee Lamb, Tee Higgins, Quentin Johnston with Ladd McConkey/Keenan Allen) You may notice there’s one guy on this list who fits in neither, and it’s Thundering Herd legend Christian Watson (shout out to NDSU).”

“Rashee Rice (WR – KC) Rice is going 25th overall as the WR11, a price that reflects real excitement about his upside. His track record supports some of that: he ranked 11th in target share among receivers last year, fourth in targets per route run, and 10th in receiving yards per game, all despite playing only eight games.”

“Rice is a tricky player to grade. He's one of the league's most dynamic receivers, but off-field issues and repeated legal troubles have put his career in jeopardy.”

“Rice has been one of the best receivers in the league in terms of counting production when he has been available. From Week 7 to Week 15 last year, Rice averaged 6.6 receptions for 71.4 yards per game. Rice has been targeted on 30.4% of his routes over the past two seasons.”

“Rashee Rice is a bit of a gimmick wide receiver dependent on being force-fed low aDOT targets, with a 4.9-yard average depth of target that ranked 106th among 109 wideouts with at least 200 routes run in 2025. Beyond Rice's fantasy value being tied to low aDOT targets, he also has durability concerns after playing only eight games in 2025 and four in 2024, plus he earned his lowest PFF receiving grade in 2025 with the lowest yards per target (7.3) of his career.”

“When Rice was on the field, he had a target share of 37.9%. I believe Rice is a top-12 wide receiver in PPR formats.”

“When he's on the field, though, Rice smashes for fantasy managers. He's talented, but no one is going to mistake him for being a nuanced route-runner. Where he wins is underneath on manufactured touches.”

“Rice recently served a 30-day sentence for violating his probation and is rehabbing following a clean-up procedure on his knee. He was outstanding when on the field last year, averaging 18.8 PPR fantasy points per game, scoring over 23.1 in half the contests.”