Should I start Jalen Nailor or Rico Dowdle in Week 6?

The market-based projections

Jalen Nailor's market-based projection is 6.2 PPR points a game, built from 3 markets across 11 market sources. That is the 127th highest figure of the 204 players with a market-based projection.

Rico Dowdle's market-based projection is 6.0 PPR points a game, built from 5 markets across 13 market sources. That is the 130th highest figure of the 204 players with a market-based projection.

Where the draft room stands

Drafters have formed no consensus on Jalen Nailor: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 143rd overall on the rest of his evidence.

Drafters have formed no consensus on Rico Dowdle: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 142nd overall on the rest of his evidence.

This season so far

Through Week 4, Jalen Nailor has been on the field for 48 percent of LV snaps, drawn 8 percent of the targets and had 3 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 3 of the offence's 39 third down targets, had 0 of its 9 chances inside the five and seen 2 of its 28 two minute targets.

His 11 targets have averaged 12.3 air yards.

In Week 2 against LAC he caught 1 of 3 targets for 9 yards and did not score.

In Week 3 against NO he caught 1 of 3 targets for 16 yards and did not score.

In Week 4 against KC he was not given the ball.

Through Week 2, Rico Dowdle has been on the field for 42 percent of PIT snaps, taken 37 percent of the carries, drawn 9 percent of the targets and had 17 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 1 of the offence's 18 third down targets and seen 0 of its 9 two minute targets.

His 7 targets have averaged 0.9 air yards.

In Week 1 against ATL he carried 8 times for 15 yards, caught 2 of 5 targets for 6 yards and did not score.

In Week 2 against NE he carried 7 times for 22 yards, caught 2 of 2 targets for 22 yards and did not score.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 Jalen Nailor played 17 games and scored 100.7 PPR points, 5.9 a game, finishing WR61.

He caught 29 of 53 targets for 444 yards and 4 touchdowns, with 11 red zone targets.

That came to 3.1 targets a game, a 55 percent catch rate and 15.3 yards a catch.

He was on the field for 65 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

In 2025 Rico Dowdle played 17 games and scored 216.3 PPR points, 12.7 a game, finishing RB18.

He carried 236 times for 1076 yards and 6 touchdowns, and caught 39 of 50 targets for 297 more yards.

That came to 13.9 carries a game at 4.6 yards a carry and 2.3 catches a game.

He was on the field for 56 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

Both were available for 17 games that season.

Side by side

In 2025 Rico Dowdle scored 12.7 PPR points a game and Jalen Nailor 5.9, 6.8 a game between them.

Jalen Nailor finished WR61 and Rico Dowdle RB18, which are two different ladders.

Jalen Nailor is a wide receiver and Rico Dowdle a running back, so the question is which slot you fill first rather than which of them is better.

Byes and availability

Jalen Nailor is off in Week 13 and Rico Dowdle in Week 9, so either can cover the other's bye.

Rico Dowdle is listed as questionable on the injury report.

What would change the answer

0.2 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 the consensus sample holds these two again it can order them differently from the projection, and this page will follow the sample rather than the market-based projection when it does.