Should I start David Montgomery or Ja'Marr Chase in Week 7?

Where the draft room stands

Live drafts hold no current pick on David Montgomery, and the board ranks him 63rd overall on the rest of his evidence.

In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 33.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Ja'Marr Chase, and the board ranks him 64th overall on the rest of his evidence.

In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 5.

The market-based projections

The market-based projection for David Montgomery is 5.0 PPR points a game off 1 market across 1 market source. That is 30 percent of what a running back's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

The market-based projection for Ja'Marr Chase is 3.9 PPR points a game off 1 market across 6 market sources. That is 30 percent of what a wide receiver's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

David Montgomery's projection is not complete, so the two figures are not set against each other here.

This season through Week 5

Through Week 5, David Montgomery has been on the field for 46 percent of HOU snaps, taken 45 percent of the carries, drawn 4 percent of the targets and had 28 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 1 of the offence's 39 third down targets, had 3 of its 7 chances inside the five and seen 0 of its 30 two minute targets.

His 7 targets have averaged 3.6 air yards.

In Week 3 against IND he carried 11 times for 33 yards, caught 2 of 2 targets for 15 yards and did not score.

In Week 4 against DAL he carried 10 times for 24 yards and did not score.

In Week 5 against TEN he carried 5 times for 11 yards and did not score.

Through Week 5, Ja'Marr Chase has been on the field for 75 percent of CIN snaps, drawn 20 percent of the targets and had 14 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 9 of the offence's 46 third down targets, had 2 of its 12 chances inside the five and seen 3 of its 33 two minute targets.

His 38 targets have averaged 9.2 air yards.

In Week 3 against PIT he caught 9 of 12 targets for 98 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 4 against JAX he caught 3 of 3 targets for 27 yards and did not score.

In Week 5 against MIA he caught 6 of 10 targets for 77 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 David Montgomery played 17 games and scored 166.9 PPR points, 9.8 a game, finishing RB27.

He carried 158 times for 716 yards and 8 touchdowns, and caught 24 of 29 targets for 192 more yards.

That came to 9.3 carries a game at 5 yards a carry and 1.4 catches a game.

He was on the field for 37 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

In 2025 Ja'Marr Chase played 16 games and scored 313.6 PPR points, 19.6 a game, finishing WR4.

He caught 125 of 185 targets for 1412 yards and 8 touchdowns, with 21 red zone targets.

That came to 11.6 targets a game, a 68 percent catch rate and 11.3 yards a catch.

He was on the field for 94 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

David Montgomery was available for 1 game more.

Side by side

In 2025 Ja'Marr Chase scored 19.6 PPR points a game and David Montgomery 9.8, 9.8 a game between them.

David Montgomery finished RB27 and Ja'Marr Chase WR4, which are two different ladders.

David Montgomery is a running back and Ja'Marr Chase a wide receiver, so the question is which slot you fill first rather than which of them is better.

Byes and availability

David Montgomery is off in Week 8 and Ja'Marr Chase in Week 6, so either can cover the other's bye.

David Montgomery is listed as out on the injury report.