Should I start Kaelon Black or Samaje Perine in Week 9?
Updated Nov 3, 8:11 AM ET. Week 10 answers post Tuesday.
Start Samaje Perine: 37 percent of the snaps and 33 percent of the carries over their last 3 games, against Kaelon Black's 30 percent of the snaps and 35 percent of the carries. 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.
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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.
RB44 · SF · bye 8
- Overall rank
- 173
RB45 · CIN · bye 6
2026 vs carries line 2-5
- Market-based projection
- 6.8 pts a game Wk 8 price
- Overall rank
- 174
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The gap
- Board size300 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 Kaelon Black, and the board ranks him 173rd overall on the rest of his evidence.
Live drafts hold no current pick on Samaje Perine, and the board ranks him 174th overall on the rest of his evidence.
The market-based projections
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.
The market-based projection for Samaje Perine is 1.9 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.
Kaelon Black's projection is not complete, so the two figures are not set against each other here.
This season so far
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.
Through Week 8, Samaje Perine has been on the field for 35 percent of CIN snaps, taken 23 percent of the carries, drawn 4 percent of the targets and had 18 percent of the red zone chances.
He has taken 6 of the offence's 61 third down targets, had 1 of its 17 chances inside the five and seen 0 of its 43 two minute targets.
His 11 targets have averaged 1.3 air yards.
In Week 5 against MIA he carried 14 times for 68 yards, caught 2 of 2 targets for 10 yards and scored 1 touchdown.
In Week 7 against BAL he carried 4 times for 16 yards and scored 1 touchdown.
In Week 8 against TEN he carried 4 times for 10 yards, caught 1 of 1 target for 9 yards and did not score.
Their 2025 seasons
Kaelon Black is a rookie, so there is no NFL season behind him to price him against.
In 2025 Samaje Perine played 15 games and scored 77.9 PPR points, 5.2 a game, finishing RB57.
He carried 84 times for 382 yards and 3 touchdowns, and caught 17 of 21 targets for 87 more yards.
That came to 5.6 carries a game at 5 yards a carry and 1.1 catches a game.
He was on the field for 34 percent of the snaps in the games he played.
Head to head
This season Samaje Perine holds the bigger snap share, 35 percent against 30 percent.
This season Kaelon Black holds the bigger share of the carries, 31 percent against 23 percent.
Byes and availability
Kaelon Black is off in Week 8 and Samaje Perine in Week 6, so either can cover the other's bye.
Both players in full
Week 9 on the board
- Is Kaelon Black playing Week 9?
- Is Samaje Perine playing Week 9?
- 49ers depth chart
- Bengals depth chart
- Week 9 RB rankings
- Week 9 fantasy rankings
- Week 9 start or sit
- Week 9 waiver wire
- Week 9 trade value chart
- Trade deadline buy low, sell high
- Fantasy football rankings
- Start 'em sit 'em Week 9
- Waiver wire pickups
- Fantasy sleepers
- Rest of season rankings
- Week 9 kicker rankings
- Week 9 defense rankings
