Training Camp Buzz Turning Kayshon Boutte Into A Fantasy Football Sleeper

I don’t know what’s going on, but they are trying to make Kayshon Boutte happen.

Over the weekend, a highlight catch from Drake Maye to Boutte was the talk of my timeline.

I chalked it up to July boredom, I was prepared to ignore and move on.

And then it happened again yesterday.

The entire fantasy football community, huddled around the watercooler, sharing clips of Boutte making plays at training camp.

The beat reporters entered the fray, claiming Boutte has gone from on the roster bubble to the “team’s best offensive player in camp.”

It even spilled over into our Fantasy Life company Slack:

I can’t escape it, so I’m instead capitulating and writing about it.

Of course, part of me thinks this is a well-orchestrated psyop to juice his potential trade value—something that has long been rumored since even before the AJ Brown trade.

But I guess in the spirit of staying Bayesian, I’m willing to entertain Boutte as a last-round selection in best ball drafts (he’s our consensus WR64) … assuming you already have Drake Maye … and assuming you are truly desperate.

Yesterday, I wrote about De’Zhaun Stribling. Today, Boutte. Clearly, I have an issue.

If fringe WR3/4s aren’t your thing, may I please direct your attention to Chris Allen’s most recent piece about whether you should take CMC or JSN with the 1.05. That should be far more relevant to you as a fantasy player.

DRAFTING DJ MOORE OR ROME ODUNZE?

Draft Strategy

Forget about the holidays. We know that fantasy football draft season is “the most wonderful time of the year.” Ssssh, don’t tell the family.

You get to put your stamp on your roster with the players you select. Your draft strategy will tell the story. So many people are talking about going RB-heavy in the early rounds to lock in their studs. Well, that’s going to leave some sweet options at wide receiver like Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb and Amon-Ra St. Brown who are too hard to pass up. If you’re into tight ends, but don’t want to pay the Round 2 price tag on Brock Bowers and Trey McBride, can we talk you into George Kittle almost 90 picks later? And don’t get us started on elite quarterback strategy when we can wait to get Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff well after pick 100. They’re both projected for well over 4,000 passing yards and 30 TDs. Not bad consolations late in drafts.

Mike’s Harder: Made with Real Character. Sometimes you have to go a different path to lock in a winning strategy.

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Around the Watercooler

The latest fantasy and NFL gossip, news, memes and more from your favorite football nerds …

⚖️ No need to Chase at any position. Mock draft is plenty balanced at the top.

🫶🏼 Matthew’s Dynasty Rankings are live. Whole lotta Love.

🏈 Plus, who is Matthew higher on than consensus? And lower …

🚑 Big injury updates from training camps yesterday. Week 1 in play?

👊🏽 Buying the Full Monty experience. Knuckles down.

🪓 Few things better than surviving the chop in Guillotine Leagues^TM. Create a league today.

👀 One of the league winners at RB is back for more. Is he still a great value?

The data says it all. Draft these AFC West WRs.

💍 Herbert put a ring on it. Take your Super Bowl jokes elsewhere.

🤔 No contract for Baker? He’ll be a free agent next year.

😆 Well that’s one way to describe playing for the Jets. LOL.

😨 If you’ve been clicking QJ in drafts. Read this first.

🤑 Jalen Carter gets paid. Not too shabby.

Drafting From The 1.05: JSN or CMC?

The 1.05 in fantasy football drafts is probably that first point where you’re picking between positions: RB vs. WR in this respect. The decision is going to be usually between Jaxon Smith Njigba and Christian McCaffrey. Both have won NFL OPOY Awards and are coming off spectacular seasons. JSN is just 24 and already at the pinnacle of the game. CMC is 30 and has been among the elite for a while, last year coming within 76 yards of his second 1,000-1,000 season of his career. Decisions, decisions.

Chris Allen continues his fantastic draft series, this time selecting from the 1.05. He plays out the entire draft after his JSN-CMC decision. As an added bonus, he breaks down the evolution and the importance of the dual-threat quarterbacks. If you don’t draft one, you just might wish you had. ⤵️

BEWARE THE PITFALLS IN THE MIDDLE ROUNDS

All TEs in a Scott Fish Bowl 16 Draft? Challenge Accepted

When Jake Trowbridge took Brock Bowers at the 1.04 in the Madison, WI live Scott Fish Bowl 16 draft it did not raise too many eyebrows. The Scott Fish Bowl is a worldwide charity fantasy football tournament where the scoring is so wild, it’s hard to determine a position that has an advantage. TE bonuses are massive in this year’s scoring, so taking one like Bowers could bring video game scoring totals—video games are the theme for this year. Though Jake couldn’t stop at just one TE.

With the only positional limitation being that no more than two QBs could start at once, there was the very real possiblity to draft any one of RB, WR or TE positions. Jake was on to something, and before long he put it out there to his draftroom if anyone wanted to donate to Fantasy Cares for him to keep on drafting TEs. He was only too willing to oblige. ⤵️

20 ROUNDS … 20 TIGHT ENDS!

Better to be Safe or Chopped? You Decide

The first four or so weeks in a Guillotine Leagues^TM season are just about survival. It’s not about shooting for upside. It’s about having as high a floor as possible to avoid the blade … and then start spending some FAAB to load up a roster. Marcas Grant and Tipp Major run through some “safe” WRs to target for that early part of the season, and also answer whether it’s a good idea to draft Patrick Mahomes this season. And more! Make sure to subscribe to the CHOP Podcast YouTube channel to catch every episode. ⤵️

ZERO-RB OR EARLY-RB STRATEGIES PREFERRED?

Players Mentioned in this Article

KayshonBoutte
WRNE
PPG
7.5
Proj
63.7

Published Jul 29, 2026, 6:00 AM ETUpdated Jul 29, 2026, 9:10 AM ET