Skip to main content
parlae.io
Sign in

Should I start Jaxon Smith-Njigba or Lamar Jackson in Week 8?

Updated Nov 3, 12:11 AM ET.

Latest

  • : Lamar Jackson: Listed Out (Thumb) (Sleeper injury feed)
  • : Lamar Jackson expected to play as Ravens QB calls ankle pain 'bearable' (ESPN)
  • : Lamar Jackson: Listed Questionable (Ankle, Sprain) (Sleeper injury feed)

Start Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 85 percent of the snaps and 36 percent of the targets over their last 3 games, against Lamar Jackson's 83 percent of the snaps and 0 percent of the targets. No market projection is posted on either of them this week, so this is a usage call, and a lower confidence one than a call made on a projection. What follows is what each of them has done.

Should I drop Lamar Jackson for Jaxon Smith-Njigba?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Jaxon Smith-Njigba projects 159 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (19.9 a game over 8 games), Lamar Jackson 123 (15.4 a game over 8 games). Lamar Jackson is listed out.

Parlae may earn a commission from price links.

Advertisement

Your next move

More fantasy football tools and rankings, all built from the same board.

Neither man carries a season projection right now, so this is their usage this season and their last full season's numbers, side by side.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba

WR1 · SEA · bye 11

2026 vs anytime td line 5-2

Market-based projection
21.5 pts a game Wk 8 price
Overall rank
3

Lamar Jackson

QB2 · BAL · bye 13

2026 vs pass yds line 3-2

Market-based projection
19.2 pts a game Wk 8 price
Overall rank
4

Make this call for your own roster

Sync your league and My Team sets this week's lineup for your actual roster, spot by spot. Free, no account.

Sync my league

SleeperESPNYahoo

Or get it by email

Tuesday 7am ET: one email with what moved on the board and who is worth a claim.

Free. One a week, one tap to stop.

The gap

  • Board size297 draftable players

Draft data is not current for these two, so the figures that depend on it are left out. The call above comes from each player's usage.

Where the draft room stands

Live drafts hold no current pick on Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and the board ranks him 3rd overall on the rest of his evidence.

In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 8.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Lamar Jackson, and the board ranks him 4th overall on the rest of his evidence.

In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 3.

The market-based projections

No season market is posted for Jaxon Smith-Njigba, so the only market valuing him on this page is the draft room.

No season market is posted for Lamar Jackson, so the only market valuing him on this page is the draft room.

Neither carries a posted market, so this page rests on the draft room and on what the two have already done.

This season so far

Through Week 7, Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been on the field for 83 percent of SEA snaps, drawn 36 percent of the targets and had 19 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 28 of the offence's 62 third down targets, had 2 of its 19 chances inside the five and seen 15 of its 38 two minute targets.

His 78 targets have averaged 10.4 air yards.

In Week 5 against SF he carried 1 time for 16 yards, caught 5 of 8 targets for 102 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 6 against DEN he caught 12 of 16 targets for 134 yards and did not score.

In Week 7 against KC he carried 2 times for 13 yards, caught 9 of 12 targets for 150 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

Through Week 8, Lamar Jackson has been on the field for 88 percent of BAL snaps, dropped back 112 times and thrown 10.4 air yards an attempt.

He has been sacked or hit on 13 of 112 dropbacks and scrambled 10 times.

In Week 3 against DAL he completed 15 of 20 passes for 186 yards, threw 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 6 times for 50 yards.

In Week 4 against TEN he completed 15 of 20 passes for 222 yards, threw 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 2 times for 20 yards.

In Week 8 against BUF he completed 0 of 1 pass for 0 yards and threw 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 Jaxon Smith-Njigba played 17 games and scored 359.9 PPR points, 21.2 a game, finishing WR2.

He caught 119 of 163 targets for 1793 yards and 10 touchdowns, with 17 red zone targets.

That came to 9.6 targets a game, a 73 percent catch rate and 15.1 yards a catch.

He was on the field for 78 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

In 2025 Lamar Jackson played 13 games and scored 221.9 PPR points, 17.1 a game, finishing QB20.

He threw for 2549 yards on 302 attempts with 21 touchdowns and 7 interceptions, and ran for 349 yards and 2 touchdowns.

That came to 23.2 attempts a game at 8.4 yards an attempt.

He was on the field for 92 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba was available for 4 games more.

Side by side

In 2025 Jaxon Smith-Njigba scored 21.2 PPR points a game and Lamar Jackson 17.1, 4.1 a game between them.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba finished WR2 and Lamar Jackson QB20, which are two different ladders.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a wide receiver and Lamar Jackson a quarterback, so the question is which slot you fill first rather than which of them is better.

Byes and availability

Jaxon Smith-Njigba is off in Week 11 and Lamar Jackson in Week 13, so either can cover the other's bye.

Lamar Jackson is listed as out on the injury report.

Drop or keep

  • Should I drop Lamar Jackson for Jaxon Smith-Njigba?

    Yes, on the rest of the season. Jaxon Smith-Njigba projects 159 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (19.9 a game over 8 games), Lamar Jackson 123 (15.4 a game over 8 games). Lamar Jackson is listed out.

  • Should I drop Jaxon Smith-Njigba for Lamar Jackson?

    No. Keep Jaxon Smith-Njigba: he projects 159 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (19.9 a game over 8 games), Lamar Jackson 123 (15.4 a game over 8 games). Lamar Jackson is listed out.

Both players in full

Week 8 on the board

Next duels