Rashee Rice vs Lamar Jackson

“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.”

“Based on what information is available to us in mid-June, there is just too much risk here to make Rashee Rice a top-10 wide receiver in redraft leagues, and for him to return value as the WR8 is asking a lot. Rice's legal troubles continue to linger after he broke parole, and a recent knee procedure forced him to miss organized team activities (OTAs), in addition to the jail time.”

“This format elevates Rashee Rice into the elite wideout conversation — for fantasy purposes, not skill. Last season, Rice played only eight games, but he was pacing for 113 catches, 1,213 yards and 11 touchdowns over a full season. If Rice can lock in and stay healthy for a full season, top-five output is in play.”

“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."”