After one of the most exciting slates in recent memory, the dust has finally settled on Week 2, which means we’re back at it this week looking for value in its every form.
This week will focus less on under the radar data, and more on how to handle some tough cases of struggling or ascending players with unclear markets and outlooks.
Stock Up
Isaac TeSlaa
We all know Isaac TeSlaa is rising, but the big question is what to do with that information. There are two countervailing forces at play here.
The first is that we’re all openly wondering exactly what TeSlaa’s fantasy ceiling is on a Lions team with a stud WR1 in Amon-Ra St. Brown and a WR2 in Jameson Williams who just signed a big contract extension.
In theory, it would behoove dynasty owners to take a profit on TeSlaa and sell him for a late second (or possibly more if your league mates are feeling frisky), thereby acquiring an insulated asset and locking in a return on investment relative to whatever you paid to acquire TeSlaa.
The other force at play is that TeSlaa will only earn more and more playing time if he keeps flashing like he has so far. He’s big and fast, blocks his ass off, and catches everything. He also brings great inside-outside versatility to the table, an underrated facet considering Amon-Ra St. Brown has expanded his game from being the slot-only player he started off as.
While I won’t sugarcoat the murky long-term role, and it would have been nice if Jameson Williams were heading for free agency, I believe owners should be holding TeSlaa, with one notable exception.
Generally, your approach to TeSlaa should be to hold him until you know exactly who he is. At only a 29% snap share in Week 2, TeSlaa will still gradually earn more playing time as the season progresses. The Lions have been in 11-personnel on 67% of their snaps, and they’re very pass-heavy in 11 personnel thus far. Even as a pure WR3 on the Lions, there is a lot more room for TeSlaa’s playing time to increase.
If you hold on to TeSlaa while his snap share stabilizes into that of a full-time player, you’re also giving yourself outs in the event of an injury opening up space for him, or in the event that he simply develops a rapport with Jared Goff that can’t be ignored.
To me, your worst case for TeSlaa is that he doesn’t break out but hits the magical 500-yard threshold for rookie wide receivers, at which point his name will be circulated as a breakout pick in 2026.
Meanwhile, any late second rounder you draft, particularly in the 2026 draft class, could be equally as buried as TeSlaa, or suck at football, or both.
I mentioned earlier that there was one notable exception to my suggestion to hold TeSlaa. Namely, you could consider selling him as part of a package for an elite player. While I’m very excited he’s living up to my positive scouting report, TeSlaa is still a mystery box. When you’re hunting for an elite player, you gotta give something to get something.
Verdict: Hold, unless he’s in a package for an elite player.
Rashid Shaheed
While Rashid Shaheed hasn’t exploded for the Saints quite yet, he’s checked the two major boxes we needed to see at this point in the season. Firstly, he’s recovered from last year’s season-ending injury and is playing a full complement of snaps.
Secondly, this offense can support receiving assets even with major, major question marks at quarterback. After going 6-33-0 and 5-52-1, it sure looks like the Saints will throw the ball enough for Shaheed to hit a floor for fantasy.
The catch is that Shaheed is not solely a floor player. He’s a spike week weapon who catches bombs deep down the field, and his explosiveness should continue to improve as the season goes on and he puts more distance between himself and last year’s injury.
You could do much, much worse than Shaheed’s floor on a team throwing the ball upwards of 40 times per game while waiting around for those 60-yard touchdowns that Shaheed produces at an elite level.
I want to avoid painting with too broad a brush here. Shaheed isn’t a trade target solely because of situational considerations. He’s also steadily improved as a football player and turned himself into a full-service wide receiver who complements Chris Olave nicely.
Verdict: Contenders should re-roll extraneous players for Shaheed
Stock Down
Terry McLaurin
It’s been a rough start to the season for Terry McLaurin, but sharp owners shouldn’t be surprised. Receivers who skip training camp while mired in contract talks routinely start the next season slowly.
McLaurin has been no exception, as he’s gone for only 2-27-0 and 5-48-0 receiving lines so far, and it likely won’t get any better in Week 3 with Jayden Daniels set to miss the game with a knee sprain.
However, McLaurin is an extremely consistent player year-over-year and is still Jayden Daniels’ best wide receiver, despite the presence of offseason acquisition Deebo Samuel. There are better days ahead for the Daniels-McLaurin connection, and any McLaurin buyers are likely to get high-end WR2 production down the stretch, even in the absence of last year’s absurd touchdown rate.
Verdict: Contender buy low
Xavier Legette
It’s time to call a spade a spade with Legette, as he is simply not a good football player. Despite great draft capital and a clear runway, he’s been outperformed by Adam Thielen and Jalen Coker in 2024 and now Tetairoa McMillan and Hunter Renfrow in 2025.
There is being reactionary and then there is ignoring what’s plainly visible on the football field. I’m all for ignoring small sample sizes, but 8 receiving yards on 15 targets is not gonna cut it on any team at any level.
I really hope you re-rolled Legette over the summer, but in the event you didn’t, you have until Jalen Coker’s return to the football field to get anything at all for him. I’m out on this player.
Verdict: Re-roll urgently