Ja'Marr & Tee Sign Twin Mega Deals! ✍️

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• Bengals sign WRs Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to twin four-year extensions worth $161M and $115M, respectively

  • The historic deals have been negotiated over the course of the offseason, and after weeks of speculation about it being a matter not of if, but when, the Bengals stunned the NFL world by announcing the extensions of their top two pass catchers on Saturday night. The immediate fantasy implications are obvious: Joe Burrow is tied to arguably the league’s top wide receiver tandem for the remainder of his contract, while both Chase and Higgins get to stay home in Cincinnati where they’ll almost assuredly be involved in shootout after shootout given the way the Bengals’ front office has allocated its financial resources. The extension for Chase has been a long time coming – he went as far as threatening a holdout up to the very beginning of the 2024 season – and he becomes the highest-paid non-QB in the league following a career year that saw him take the triple crown. Meanwhile, Higgins cashes in on a long-awaited extension after being franchise tagged not once, but two times in a row over the past two seasons. Chase and Higgins were the overall fantasy WR1 and WR2, respectively, in points per game among wide receivers to start at least 10 games in 2024, so it’ll be money well spent to keep their passing offense firing on all cylinders. With the amount of money Cincy has spent on offense, the defense is likely to struggle across the board in 2025 – which could make the Bengals one of the fastest paced and highest-scoring offenses in the league if it plays out in real life the way it looks on paper.

• Former Browns and free agent QB Jameis Winston visits with Giants on Tuesday

  • Winston is one of three remaining fantasy relevant quarterbacks that have yet to sign to their new teams in 2025, and it seems like it’s a big game of musical chairs choosing between the three teams left in the market for a signal caller: the Giants, Steelers, and Browns. If we go ahead and assume that none of the QBs return to the same teams that they played for last year, that leaves the Giants and the Steelers as the only remaining options for Jameis – and regardless of his landing spot, there would be juicy fantasy implications to unpack. For now, though, Winston is visiting with the Giants – a team that’s almost a lock to draft a signal caller with their first pick on the board in April’s 2025 NFL Draft. For those of us who want to see Jameis in a starting job come Week 1, having the Giants sign Winston and then draft a franchise QB would be a less than ideal outcome – but it’s hard not to be excited at the prospect of even a handful of games with Winston slinging the rock to Malik Nabers. The same could be said for Winston winding up in Pittsburgh, where it would be utter chaos meets pure cinema with Winston uncorking bombs to D.K. Metcalf and George Pickens. As we know, Winston has a knack for making his receivers fantasy relevant; and for that reason, it’s important to pay attention to where the king of Good Vibes lands.

• The Chargers could look to add an ‘explosive player to the running back group in the draft’ to complement recently signed RB Najee Harris

  • Hold off on the seafood dinners for now, Faraz. The Chargers added veteran running back and model of consistency Najee Harris on a one-year deal in free agency from the Steelers, but Popper speculates that his time as the prospective RB1 for LA could be short lived. Currently on the depth chart behind Harris are Kimani Vidal and Hassan Haskins, a situation that would likely result in Harris earning the bulk of the workload in the Chargers backfield. However, Popper says that the Chargers could look to this year’s extremely deep RB class ‘as early as the first round’ with the 22nd overall selection. It seems relatively safe to write off Ashton Jeanty as a potential option for the Chargers given the amount of buzz he has as a top-15 pick, but this report likely puts the rest of the RB class on the board for the Chargers – and potentially early. The Chargers deployed a two-headed attack early in the season last year before eventually leaning into J.K. Dobbins down the stretch (before he got hurt), and there’s a chance that Harbaugh and co. could be feeling inclined to establish a sustainable two-man attack once again with the more durable Harris and an explosive complement. To that end, this year’s class of ball carriers has many means – names like Omarion Hampton, Kaleb Johnson, R.J. Harvey, and TreVeyon Henderson headline the group behind Jeanty.

QB Justin Fields

Fields averaged 18.9 points per game as the Steelers’ starter in his six starts last season, which would have ranked as the QB12 over a full season. With better weapons in New York between Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall, and former Lions passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand at OC instead of Arthur Smith, Fields has immediate fantasy QB1 appeal – assuming New York doesn’t add any significant competition the rest of the offseason.

TE Evan Engram

Engram will be the best tight end Sean Payton has had at his disposal since Jimmy Graham, who his offense spoon fed 120+ targets for four straight years from 2011-2014. Engram is just a season removed from 114 receptions in 2023, and in an ascending offense with Bo Nix and no legitimate target competition outside of Courtland Sutton, the outlook as of today looks very promising for the former Jaguar. In his healthiest stretch of the season in 2024 from Weeks 6-14, Engram ranked 4th in target share (25%) and t-4th in targets per game (7.3).

RB Jordan Mason

Mason was relegated to backup duties for the duration of his time in San Francisco, but when he was the lead back, he was highly efficient – in six career games playing 30 or more snaps, he averages 99 yards on the ground and 16 PPR points per game. That’s on top of ranking 3rd in missed tackles forced and 2nd in yards after contact per attempt through his first seven healthy games before getting injured in Week 8. Minnesota traded for him to work alongside veteran Aaron Jones, and if the Vikings are at all interested in dialing back his workload, Mason could be the primary beneficiary as an efficient change of pace back.

QB Baker Mayfield

Liam Coen may have left for Jacksonville, but the Bucs made sure to keep their core of offensive players in place by re-signing WR Chris Godwin to a three-year deal – locking in Mayfield’s WR corps from his career year in 2024 for 2025. That continuity will alleviate concerns around Coen’s departure, especially considering that Josh Grizzard will be stepping up as the playcaller for Tampa Bay from his former passing game coordinator role. Given the alternative of losing both his playcaller and his most reliable weapon in Godwin, holding onto the veteran slot man is a huge win.

WR Davante Adams

37-year old Matthew Stafford brings way more to the table than 40-year old Aaron Rodgers, but it’s Sean McVay’s WR-friendly system that should have fantasy managers most excited about Davante Adams’ trip out west to LA. Puka Nacua will be elite target competition for Adams, but Adams is an elite target-earner himself and will be able to hold his own as the new 1A/1B in town. McVay’s offenses have produced two top-24 fantasy WRs in five of his eight seasons as head coach, including three of the past four seasons, and this might be the most talented duo the Rams have fielded yet.