Should I start J.K. Dobbins or Kaelon Black in Week 9?

Where the draft room stands

Live drafts hold no current pick on J.K. Dobbins, and the board ranks him 162nd overall on the rest of his evidence.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Kaelon Black, and the board ranks him 176th overall on the rest of his evidence.

The market-based projections

The market has J.K. Dobbins at 2.2 PPR points a game off 1 market across 7 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 Kaelon Black is 1.9 PPR points a game off 1 market across 1 market source. That is 30 percent of what a running back's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

J.K. Dobbins's projection is not complete, so the two figures are not set against each other here.

This season so far

Through Week 8, J.K. Dobbins has been on the field for 38 percent of DEN snaps, taken 50 percent of the carries, drawn 4 percent of the targets and had 22 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 0 of the offence's 66 third down targets, had 8 of its 26 chances inside the five and seen 0 of its 26 two minute targets.

His 9 targets have come 1.1 yards behind the line of scrimmage on average.

In Week 6 against SEA he carried 17 times for 41 yards, caught 3 of 3 targets for 5 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 7 against ARI he carried 6 times for 23 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 8 against KC he carried 7 times for 13 yards and did not score.

Through Week 7, Kaelon Black has been on the field for 30 percent of SF snaps, taken 31 percent of the carries, drawn 3 percent of the targets and had 16 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 0 of the offence's 50 third down targets, had 3 of its 24 chances inside the five and seen 0 of its 30 two minute targets.

His 6 targets have come 2.0 yards behind the line of scrimmage on average.

In Week 5 against SEA he carried 6 times for 16 yards and did not score.

In Week 6 against WAS he carried 8 times for 34 yards, caught 1 of 1 target for 3 yards and did not score.

In Week 7 against ATL he carried 12 times for 63 yards, caught 1 of 3 targets for -4 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 J.K. Dobbins played 10 games and scored 115.9 PPR points, 11.6 a game, finishing RB43.

He carried 153 times for 772 yards and 4 touchdowns, and caught 11 of 14 targets for 37 more yards.

That came to 15.3 carries a game at 5.0 yards a carry and 1.1 catches a game.

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

Kaelon Black is a rookie, so there is no NFL season behind him to price him against.

Head to head

This season J.K. Dobbins holds the bigger snap share, 38 percent against 30 percent.

This season J.K. Dobbins holds the bigger share of the carries, 50 percent against 31 percent.

Byes and availability

J.K. Dobbins is off in Week 10 and Kaelon Black in Week 8, so either can cover the other's bye.