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- The WR Screaming Up Draft Boards
A lot has happened since Rashee Rice’s rookie year, when he broke out late in the season and served as a key contributor to the Chiefs’ 2023 Super Bowl win.
In March 2024, he was involved in a car crash after driving at speeds up to 119 mph, leading many to speculate about suspension risk.
And then his 2024 season was cut short after he suffered a right knee injury (LCL and hamstring) during KC’s Week 4 game vs. the Chargers.
During that span, the Chiefs continued to bolster their WR room. They drafted Xavier Worthy in Round 1 of the 2024 draft, signed Hollywood Brown as a free agent, and drafted Jalen Royals in Round 4 this year.
You’d think that all of this uncertainty would result in bargain bin prices for Rice in 2025 drafts, but you’d be sorely mistaken (at least on Underdog):
And he’s certainly not going to get any cheaper after he was spotted practicing in full with the Chiefs yesterday.
Rice is one of the more interesting rankings dilemmas for 2025. If you buy a bounceback for Patrick Mahomes and Rice picking up where he left off pre-injury, you can easily make the case that he should be a mid-second-round pick next to Ladd McConkey and A.J. Brown.
But I’m also open to more bearish takes that point to Worthy’s breakout and additions to the WR room complicating his path to volume.
At this point, though, I don’t see anything slowing his rise into Round 2 on Underdog—he’s never been one to care about speed limits.
Please join Break The Hold (BTH), a non-profit organization focused on Youth Wellness & Suicide Prevention, on June 8th for the 7th Annual Sunrise Walk for Mental Wellness to raise awareness and necessary funds that will allow us to fulfill our goal of embedding mental health instruction and emotional skill development in every school district.
Imagine a world where our kids grow up with an advanced understanding of their mental health journey and learn skills that will help with emotional regulation. This instruction will reduce long-term illness and youth suicide. Please help us build a world where all youth receive this instruction universally.
The BTH 360 model currently services many Westchester school districts and thousands of youths with this valuable instruction. The model is evidence-based, easily replicated, sustainable, and at no cost to the school district. The goal is to be county-wide by 2027 and state-wide by 2030.
If you cannot join us on the walk, you can still help by donating. 100% of the donation will go to the Mental Health Association of Westchester and will bring us one step closer to fulfilling our mission.
Fantasy
Ashton Jeanty and Christian McCaffrey Fall
It’s been too long without a mock draft, so we thought we’d fix that. Ian Hartitz, Jonathan Fuller, and Chris Allen got together to organize a 12-team, half-PPR mock draft chock-full of 12 Fantasy Life staffers, and the surprises were plentiful.
Not only did two mid-to-late first-round picks—Ashton Jeanty and Christian McCaffrey—slide out of the first round entirely, but we’ve apparently created a new villain fantasy football expert origin story along the way.
How is the draft board shaking out as we inch closer to peak draft season? Every pick of every round is outlined below. ⬇️
Fantasy
Ja’Marr Chase is Ready to Defend His Triple Crown
The Cincinnati Bengals were loads of fun for fantasy football managers in 2024. They scored 33 points four times AND LOST! Those weekly carnival games led to Joe Burrow finishing with 4,918 yards and 43 TDs to end up tied for the QB3 and pushed Ja’Marr Chase to just the fifth Triple Crown season in NFL history. Who’s up for a repeat performance?
Ian Hartitz questions if the state of the Bengals defense may not be much better than the Swiss cheese that went out there weekly last season, which could keep the good times rolling for Joey B., Chase, Tee Higgins, Chase Brown, and those who love Skyline Chili. Enjoy the read. ⬇️
Fantasy
Around the Watercooler
The latest fantasy nuggets, silliness, and NFL gossip from our merry band of football nerds.
👀 Start, Marry, Cut: Tee, JSN, and Tyreek. How would you do it?
🫰 Maybe this NY WR will get a prolific QB by 2029, so snap him up in Empire Leagues.
🎞️ Coach Aiyuk? The SF WR is moonlighting in his free time.
🐠 Scott Fish Bowl 15 scoring is in. Wonder who the IDP scoring is targeting?
😆 A bullish Kyle Pitts stat? I mean, he’s not wrong!
👑 Derrick Henry on the big screen with Adam Sandler? He just needs to do one simple thing … Not too big an ask.
🚀 Behind the scenes on the Rams rookie TE. McVay sounds stoked.
🤔 He has a path to start … whatever that means!
🏈 Attention Dynasty managers! We have players to add and drop.
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