Should I start Darren Waller or Eli Raridon in Week 9?
Updated Nov 3, 12:56 PM ET. Week 10 answers post Tuesday.
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Week 9 verdict
Start Eli Raridon over Darren Waller
- Market projects
- 5.0
- recent weeks avg
- GB D vs TE
- 9.0
- 2nd fewest to TEs (2026)
- Snap share
- 56%
- Through Week 8
- Target share
- 10%
- Through Week 8
- Market projects
- 4.8
- fantasy pts
- DEN D vs TE
- 16.8
- 7th most to TEs (2026)
- Snap share
- 48%
- Through Week 8
- Target share
- 10%
- Through Week 8
Start Eli Raridon: 68 percent of the snaps and 14 percent of the targets over their last 3 games, against Darren Waller's 51 percent of the snaps and 6 percent of the targets. No market projection is posted on either of them this week, so this is a usage call, and a lower confidence one than a call made on a projection. What follows is what each of them has done.
Should I drop Eli Raridon for Darren Waller?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Darren Waller projects 57 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (6.3 a game over 9 games), Eli Raridon 35 (4.4 a game over 8 games). For Week 9 the call starts Eli Raridon over Darren Waller. So make the move after his Week 9 game.
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Your next move
More fantasy football tools and rankings, all built from the same board.
Both players' season market-based projection, their usage this season and their last full season's numbers.
TE6 · CAR · bye 5
2026 vs anytime td line 2-5
- Market-based projection
- 4.8 pts a game
TE27 · NE · bye 11
2026 vs anytime td line 2-5
- Market-based projection
- 6.8 pts a game Wk 8 price
- Overall rank
- 128
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The gap
- Board size302 draftable players
Draft data is not current for these two, so the figures that depend on it are left out. The call above comes from each player's usage.
Where the draft room stands
Live drafts hold no current pick on Darren Waller, and the board ranks him 48th overall on the rest of his evidence.
Live drafts hold no current pick on Eli Raridon, and the board ranks him 128th overall on the rest of his evidence.
The market-based projections
Darren Waller's market-based projection is 4.8 PPR points a game, built from 3 markets across 10 market sources. That is the 48th highest figure of the 212 players with a market-based projection.
The market-based projection for Eli Raridon is 2.0 PPR points a game off 1 market across 7 market sources. That is 30 percent of what a tight end's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.
Eli Raridon's projection is not complete, so the two figures are not set against each other here.
This season through Week 8
Through Week 8, Darren Waller has been on the field for 48 percent of CAR snaps, drawn 10 percent of the targets and had 6 percent of the red zone chances.
He has taken 9 of the offence's 53 third down targets, had 0 of its 13 chances inside the five and seen 7 of its 34 two minute targets.
His 25 targets have averaged 9.4 air yards.
In Week 6 against PHI he caught 0 of 2 targets for 0 yards and did not score.
In Week 7 against TB he caught 1 of 2 targets for 50 yards and scored 1 touchdown.
In Week 8 against GB he caught 1 of 2 targets for 11 yards and did not score.
Through Week 8, Eli Raridon has been on the field for 56 percent of NE snaps, drawn 10 percent of the targets and had 10 percent of the red zone chances.
He has taken 2 of the offence's 50 third down targets, had 2 of its 8 chances inside the five and seen 1 of its 30 two minute targets.
His 20 targets have averaged 7.2 air yards.
In Week 6 against NYJ he caught 1 of 3 targets for 11 yards and did not score.
In Week 7 against CHI he caught 3 of 4 targets for 56 yards and scored 1 touchdown.
In Week 8 against MIA he caught 1 of 4 targets for 5 yards and did not score.
Their 2025 seasons
In 2025 Darren Waller played 9 games and scored 88.7 PPR points, 9.9 a game, finishing TE33.
He caught 24 of 34 targets for 283 yards and 6 touchdowns, with 7 red zone targets.
That came to 3.8 targets a game, a 71 percent catch rate and 11.8 yards a catch.
He was on the field for 45 percent of the snaps in the games he played.
Eli Raridon is a rookie, so there is no NFL season behind him to price him against.
Head to head
This season Eli Raridon holds the bigger snap share, 56 percent against 48 percent.
Their target share this season is the same, 10 percent each.
Byes and availability
Darren Waller is off in Week 5 and Eli Raridon in Week 11, so either can cover the other's bye.
What would change the answer
Eli Raridon has only a partial projection, so the market half of this page is whole for only one of them.
Drop or keep
Should I drop Eli Raridon for Darren Waller?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Darren Waller projects 57 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (6.3 a game over 9 games), Eli Raridon 35 (4.4 a game over 8 games). For Week 9 the call starts Eli Raridon over Darren Waller. So make the move after his Week 9 game.
Should I drop Darren Waller for Eli Raridon?
No. Keep Darren Waller: he projects 57 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (6.3 a game over 9 games), Eli Raridon 35 (4.4 a game over 8 games). For Week 9 the call starts Eli Raridon over Darren Waller.
Both players in full
Week 9 on the board
- Is Darren Waller playing Week 9?
- Is Eli Raridon playing Week 9?
- Panthers depth chart
- Patriots depth chart
- Week 9 TE rankings
- Week 9 fantasy rankings
- Week 9 start or sit
- Week 9 waiver wire
- Week 9 trade value chart
- Trade deadline buy low, sell high
- Fantasy football rankings
- Start 'em sit 'em Week 9
- Waiver wire pickups
- Fantasy sleepers
- Rest of season rankings
- Week 9 kicker rankings
- Week 9 defense rankings
