Should I start Ladd McConkey or Eli Raridon in Week 9?

Where the draft room stands

Live drafts hold no current pick on Ladd McConkey, and the board ranks him 138th overall on the rest of his evidence.

By format he goes standard: ADP 14; 2QB: ADP 35.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Eli Raridon, and the board ranks him 139th overall on the rest of his evidence.

The market-based projections

The market-based projection for Ladd McConkey is 1.8 PPR points a game off 1 market across 1 market source. 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 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.

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

This season through Week 8

Through Week 8, Ladd McConkey has been on the field for 53 percent of LAC snaps, drawn 13 percent of the targets and had 4 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 10 of the offence's 61 third down targets, had 0 of its 7 chances inside the five and seen 2 of its 22 two minute targets.

His 24 targets have averaged 12.4 air yards.

In Week 4 against SEA he caught 0 of 2 targets for 0 yards and did not score.

In Week 6 against KC he caught 1 of 1 target for 17 yards and did not score.

In Week 8 against LAR he caught 4 of 6 targets for 86 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 Ladd McConkey played 16 games and scored 180.9 PPR points, 11.3 a game, finishing WR30.

He caught 66 of 106 targets for 789 yards and 6 touchdowns, with 14 red zone targets.

That came to 6.6 targets a game, a 62 percent catch rate and 12.0 yards a catch.

He was on the field for 78 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.

Side by side

Ladd McConkey is a wide receiver and Eli Raridon a tight end, so the question is which slot you fill first rather than which of them is better.

Byes and availability

Ladd McConkey is off in Week 7 and Eli Raridon in Week 11, so either can cover the other's bye.