Should I start Chig Okonkwo or Samaje Perine in Week 9?

The market-based projections

Chig Okonkwo's market-based projection is 8.0 PPR points a game, built from 3 markets across 8 market sources. That is the 91st highest figure of the 220 players with a market-based projection.

Samaje Perine's market-based projection is 4.7 PPR points a game, built from 5 markets across 12 market sources. That is the 111th highest figure of the 220 players with a market-based projection.

Where the draft room stands

Live drafts hold no current pick on Chig Okonkwo, and the board ranks him 100th overall on the rest of his evidence.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Samaje Perine, and the board ranks him 97th overall on the rest of his evidence.

This season through Week 8

Through Week 8, Chig Okonkwo has been on the field for 67 percent of WAS snaps, drawn 16 percent of the targets and had 3 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 3 of the offence's 42 third down targets, had 0 of its 7 chances inside the five and seen 2 of its 19 two minute targets.

His 24 targets have averaged 7.9 air yards.

In Week 5 against NYG he caught 4 of 6 targets for 60 yards and did not score.

In Week 6 against SF he caught 7 of 7 targets for 69 yards and did not score.

In Week 8 against PHI he caught 2 of 4 targets for 32 yards and did not score.

Through Week 8, Samaje Perine has been on the field for 35 percent of CIN snaps, taken 23 percent of the carries, drawn 4 percent of the targets and had 18 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 6 of the offence's 61 third down targets, had 1 of its 17 chances inside the five and seen 0 of its 43 two minute targets.

His 11 targets have averaged 1.3 air yards.

In Week 5 against MIA he carried 14 times for 68 yards, caught 2 of 2 targets for 10 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 7 against BAL he carried 4 times for 16 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 8 against TEN he carried 4 times for 10 yards, caught 1 of 1 target for 9 yards and did not score.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 Chig Okonkwo played 17 games and scored 124.0 PPR points, 7.3 a game, finishing TE21.

He caught 56 of 79 targets for 560 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 5 red zone targets.

That came to 4.6 targets a game, a 71 percent catch rate and 10.0 yards a catch.

He was on the field for 62 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

In 2025 Samaje Perine played 15 games and scored 77.9 PPR points, 5.2 a game, finishing RB57.

He carried 84 times for 382 yards and 3 touchdowns, and caught 17 of 21 targets for 87 more yards.

That came to 5.6 carries a game at 5 yards a carry and 1.1 catches a game.

He was on the field for 34 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

Chig Okonkwo was available for 2 games more.

Side by side

In 2025 Chig Okonkwo scored 7.3 PPR points a game and Samaje Perine 5.2, 2.1 a game between them.

Chig Okonkwo finished TE21 and Samaje Perine RB57, which are two different ladders.

Chig Okonkwo is a tight end and Samaje Perine a running back, so the question is which slot you fill first rather than which of them is better.

Byes and availability

Chig Okonkwo is off in Week 7 and Samaje Perine in Week 6, so either can cover the other's bye.

What would change the answer

3.3 points a game is the entire case. The market restates it every week, and a line that moves moves the order with it.

The draft market is the half that is missing: when live drafts hold these two again they can order them differently from the projection, and this page will follow the drafts rather than the market-based projection when they do.