Should I start Efton Chism III or Devaughn Vele in Week 9?

Where the draft room stands

Live drafts hold no current pick on Efton Chism III, and the board ranks him 182nd overall on the rest of his evidence.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Devaughn Vele, and the board ranks him 184th overall on the rest of his evidence.

The market-based projections

The market-based projection for Efton Chism III is 1.9 PPR points a game off 1 market across 10 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.

The market-based projection for Devaughn Vele is 1.9 PPR points a game off 1 market across 13 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.

Efton Chism III's projection is not complete, so the two figures are not set against each other here.

This season so far

Through Week 8, Efton Chism III has been on the field for 76 percent of NE snaps, drawn 12 percent of the targets and had 22 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 0 of the offence's 8 third down targets, had 0 of its 1 chance inside the five and seen 0 of its 6 two minute targets.

His 6 targets have averaged 4.5 air yards.

In Week 7 against CHI he caught 1 of 1 target for 16 yards and did not score.

In Week 8 against MIA he caught 5 of 5 targets for 37 yards and did not score.

Through Week 7, Devaughn Vele has been on the field for 91 percent of NO snaps, drawn 18 percent of the targets and had 10 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 17 of the offence's 68 third down targets, had 3 of its 23 chances inside the five and seen 7 of its 38 two minute targets.

His 48 targets have averaged 9.9 air yards.

In Week 5 against MIN he caught 4 of 6 targets for 26 yards and did not score.

In Week 6 against NYG he caught 3 of 6 targets for 42 yards and did not score.

In Week 7 against PIT he caught 5 of 5 targets for 54 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 Efton Chism III played 8 games and scored 16.5 PPR points, 2.1 a game.

He caught 3 of 3 targets for 75 yards and 1 touchdown, with 1 red zone target.

That came to 0.4 targets a game, a 100 percent catch rate and 25.0 yards a catch.

He was on the field for 14 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

In 2025 Devaughn Vele played 13 games and scored 66.3 PPR points, 5.1 a game, finishing WR95.

He caught 25 of 39 targets for 293 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 4 red zone targets.

That came to 3.0 targets a game, a 64 percent catch rate and 11.7 yards a catch.

He was on the field for 51 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

Devaughn Vele was available for 5 games more.

Head to head

In 2025 Devaughn Vele scored 5.1 PPR points a game and Efton Chism III 2.1, 3.0 a game between them.

Devaughn Vele had 36 more targets than Efton Chism III, 39 to 3.

Devaughn Vele had 218 more receiving yards than Efton Chism III, 293 to 75.

This season Devaughn Vele holds the bigger snap share, 91 percent against 76 percent.

This season Devaughn Vele holds the bigger target share, 18 percent against 12 percent.

Byes and availability

Efton Chism III is off in Week 11 and Devaughn Vele in Week 8, so either can cover the other's bye.