Right now, two of the top five wide receivers in fantasy football are trying to sign new contracts. Both Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb and Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase are holding out of training camp to put pressure on their respective organizations to get paid. The bigger question for fantasy managers is how does this affect their draft position?
Prior to training camp, Lamb was being taken as the #1 or #2 overall player in fantasy drafts. I expect that he will get a deal signed as Jerry Jones has little leverage, considering the Cowboys’ receiving corps is made up of Brandin Cooks and a bunch of unproven no-names. Jones is posturing that he’s not in a rush to sign any deal, but if I had to guess, one will be signed after the third preseason game. This still gives Lamb enough time to practice and get ready for Week 1. Take him freely in your drafts with 1.2 or 1.3, and hope to reap the rewards.
Admittedly, I am more worried about Chase signing than Lamb. The Bengals GM Mike Brown is notorious for his cheapness, and the team drafted a potential replacement for either Chase or Tee Higgins by taking Jermaine Burton from Alabama. The Bengals signed Higgins to a one-year deal this offseason even though Higgins expressed his desire to be traded. It seems likely that a deal will eventually get signed, but it might take Joe Burrow walking into Brown’s office to get it done. A friend of mine mentioned that Chase fell to him at 1.8 in a recent draft, which does not surprise me. It is conceivable that he misses a regular season game or two as well as this has the potential to get worse before it gets better.
