Should I start Kyren Williams or Ja'Marr Chase in Week 8?

Where the draft room stands

Live drafts hold no current pick on Kyren Williams, and the board ranks him 35th overall on the rest of his evidence.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Ja'Marr Chase, and the board ranks him 36th overall on the rest of his evidence.

In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 5.

The market-based projections

The market-based projection for Kyren Williams is 5.4 PPR points a game off 1 market across 6 market sources. 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 4.4 PPR points a game off 1 market across 7 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.

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

This season through Week 7

Through Week 7, Kyren Williams has been on the field for 68 percent of LAR snaps, taken 54 percent of the carries, drawn 15 percent of the targets and had 34 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 12 of the offence's 57 third down targets, had 7 of its 20 chances inside the five and seen 9 of its 35 two minute targets.

His 41 targets have averaged 2.5 air yards.

In Week 5 against BUF he carried 16 times for 49 yards, caught 6 of 8 targets for 27 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 6 against ARI he carried 10 times for 50 yards, caught 3 of 6 targets for 17 yards and did not score.

In Week 7 against LV he carried 16 times for 99 yards, caught 2 of 2 targets for 22 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

Through Week 7, Ja'Marr Chase has been on the field for 77 percent of CIN snaps, drawn 21 percent of the targets and had 14 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 11 of the offence's 53 third down targets, had 3 of its 15 chances inside the five and seen 4 of its 36 two minute targets.

His 45 targets have averaged 9.3 air yards.

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.

In Week 7 against BAL he caught 5 of 7 targets for 62 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 Kyren Williams played 17 games and scored 263.3 PPR points, 15.5 a game, finishing RB9.

He carried 259 times for 1252 yards and 10 touchdowns, and caught 36 of 50 targets for 281 more yards.

That came to 15.2 carries a game at 4.8 yards a carry and 2.1 catches a game.

He was on the field for 68 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.

Kyren Williams was available for 1 game more.

Side by side

In 2025 Ja'Marr Chase scored 19.6 PPR points a game and Kyren Williams 15.5, 4.1 a game between them.

Kyren Williams finished RB9 and Ja'Marr Chase WR4, which are two different ladders.

Kyren Williams 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

Kyren Williams is off in Week 11 and Ja'Marr Chase in Week 6, so either can cover the other's bye.