Should I start Malik Nabers or Saquon Barkley in Week 9?

The market-based projections

Malik Nabers's market-based projection is 15.7 PPR points a game, built from 3 markets across 9 market sources. That is the 32nd highest figure of the 222 players with a market-based projection.

Saquon Barkley's market-based projection is 13.1 PPR points a game, built from 5 markets across 8 market sources. That is the 57th highest figure of the 222 players with a market-based projection.

Where the draft room stands

Live drafts hold no current pick on Malik Nabers, and the board ranks him 29th overall on the rest of his evidence.

By format he goes standard: ADP 12; 2QB: ADP 27.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Saquon Barkley, and the board ranks him 27th overall on the rest of his evidence.

By format he goes standard: ADP 3; 2QB: ADP 14.

This season so far

Through Week 7, Malik Nabers has been on the field for 76 percent of NYG snaps, drawn 30 percent of the targets and had 15 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 15 of the offence's 61 third down targets, had 2 of its 13 chances inside the five and seen 12 of its 32 two minute targets.

His 70 targets have averaged 11.6 air yards.

In Week 5 against WAS he caught 11 of 20 targets for 121 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 6 against NO he caught 12 of 15 targets for 165 yards and did not score.

In Week 7 against HOU he caught 7 of 9 targets for 111 yards and did not score.

Through Week 8, Saquon Barkley has been on the field for 33 percent of PHI snaps, taken 36 percent of the carries, drawn 6 percent of the targets and had 20 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 1 of the offence's 53 third down targets, had 4 of its 13 chances inside the five and seen 0 of its 41 two minute targets.

His 10 targets have averaged 1.3 air yards.

In Week 4 against LAR he carried 2 times for 8 yards, caught 1 of 1 target for 2 yards and did not score.

In Week 7 against DAL he carried 7 times for 62 yards, caught 2 of 2 targets for 9 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 8 against WAS he carried 13 times for 30 yards, caught 1 of 1 target for 24 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 Malik Nabers played 4 games and scored 57.1 PPR points, 14.3 a game, finishing WR101.

He caught 18 of 35 targets for 271 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 3 red zone targets.

That came to 8.8 targets a game, a 51 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 Saquon Barkley played 16 games and scored 232.3 PPR points, 14.5 a game, finishing RB14.

He carried 280 times for 1140 yards and 7 touchdowns, and caught 37 of 50 targets for 273 more yards.

That came to 17-18 carries a game at 4.1 yards a carry and 2.3 catches a game.

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

Saquon Barkley was available for 12 games more.

Side by side

In 2025 Saquon Barkley scored 14.5 PPR points a game and Malik Nabers 14.3, 0.2 a game between them.

Malik Nabers finished WR101 and Saquon Barkley RB14, which are two different ladders.

Malik Nabers is a wide receiver and Saquon Barkley a running back, so the question is which slot you fill first rather than which of them is better.

Byes and availability

Malik Nabers is off in Week 8 and Saquon Barkley in Week 10, so either can cover the other's bye.

What would change the answer

2.6 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 live drafts hold these two again they can order them differently from the projection, and this page will follow the drafts rather than the market-based projection when they do.