Lamar Jackson vs Chris Olave

“Injuries and a steep decline in rushing production cratered Lamar Jackson ‘s fantasy value in 2025. After finishing QB1 in fantasy scoring in 2024, Jackson plummeted to a QB20 fantasy finish last season and was QB16 in fantasy points per game at the position. Jackson lost three games to an early-season hamstring injury and one game to a late-season back injury.”

“Lamar Jackson cratered many fantasy rosters in 2025. Before an early October hamstring injury, he was on pace for 3,700 passing yards, 437 rushing yards, and 47 total TDs.”

“The most obvious thing to consider is your positional strengths and weaknesses — trading for Lamar Jackson when you already have Josh Allen probably isn’t a good idea.”

“If you want an elite QB, pocket your picks for a round and a half and take Lamar Jackson, instead.”

“There isn’t a single drafted player on the Ravens that goes higher than I would take them, with Lamar Jackson standing out as the single best 1QB value I have ever seen if you want to get a top-two quarterback, going at pick 46, 19 picks past QB1, Josh Allen.”

“With plenty of time to recover from last season, Jackson is a ticking time bomb for fantasy production.”

“Things did not go well for Lamar Jackson in 2025, but he still displayed his ceiling early on before injuries started to stack up.”

“For what it’s worth, Lamar did speak highly of Doyle’s offense this spring, saying: “ It’s a different system than what I’m accustomed to being in, and I feel like there’s going to be a lot of explosiveness this year.”

“The case for Lamar staying near the top of the market: he’s not even 30 years old, he was still playing at an elite level in weeks one and two last season before his injury in week three derailed the rest of his year, and he has never failed to have an MVP-caliber first season under a new play caller, which is exactly the situation he’s in again this year.”

“Jackson's 2025 performance was marred by injury and a subpar level of play (by his standards). Therefore, while he has tremendous leverage by virtue of the restructure and the $84.34MM cap number it created for 2027, he may want to come to the negotiating table on the heels of a better season.”

“Todd Monken, reflecting on where things went wrong in Baltimore last season, feels that he didn't get the most out of Lamar Jackson. "I didn't coach well enough," Monken said. "I didn't get Lamar to play at his best when the best was needed."”

“Jackson mentioned that Doyle is running a completely different system from what Todd Monken deployed last season, while there are some concepts from what Greg Roman ran in 2022. Jackson expects more "explosiveness" this season, and Doyle is proving to be a very creative playcaller. "I feel like there's going to be a lot of explosiveness this year," Jackson said. "The way Declan calls plays and his creativity with his mind — how detailed he is — it's mind-blowing. I'm excited."”

“Shough is the unquestioned starter entering 2026, and he’s entering his second season with Chris Olave still in place and Tyson joining the offense”

“They also locked up Chris Olave with a massive contract extension”

“There are a lot of factors to consider when determining the value of a fantasy asset, and it is no different when evaluating the dynasty value of Chris Olave . We can look at the optimistic picture painted by his success with a new QB & new coach, finishing as the WR6 in the 2025 season.”

“After several concussions, most notably two in 2024, Olave returned to form. Olave played 16 games, putting up 100 receptions, 1163 yards, and nine TDs before missing Week 18 due to a blood clot.”

“That has him going ahead of players like Chris Olave , DeVonta Smith and Tetairoa McMillan — all of whom have similar WR1 upside without the same red flags.”

“Chris Olave showed immediate rapport with Tyler Shough , finishing his season on a high note. With Travis Etienne Jr. and Jordyn Tyson , the Saints’ offense should be significantly improved, which will help Olave’s efficiency.”

“Last year, it looked like he was back to form with 100 catches and 1,163 yards. Can we get another full season, Chris? Please!”

“Chris Olave's end-of-season yardage total (1163) looks fine and maybe not as impressive considering he played all 17 games, but he actually ranked #1 in the league in total air yards with 1,820, which tells us that the Saints left a ton of yards on the field as Olave's catch rate (66.2%) and catchable target rate (76.8%) was lower subpar due to poor targets or deep shots that never came to fruition.”

“The cupboards were largely bare at wideout behind Chris Olave.”

“The concern with Chris Olave comes down almost entirely to concussion history. Three straight seasons involving concussions, plus additional issues dating back to college, create long-term dynasty risk that's difficult to ignore, with reports that Olave even contemplated retirement after his latest concussion.”

“New Orleans added three wide receivers and a tight end through the draft, and signed Travis Etienne Jr. in free agency. Olave hauled in 25 percent of the team's receptions, and replicating that number will be dang near impossible.”

“Chris Olave is a slight loser with Arizona State's Jordyn Tyson going to New Orleans at No. 8 overall. It's doubtful that he'll approach 156 targets again with another high-end weapon in the mix.”