Start Luther Burden III or Alec Pierce? Week 1
Locks at kickoff, graded after.
Start Luther Burden III over Alec Pierce
- CAR D vs WR
- 41.2
- 7th most to WRs (2026)
- BAL D vs WR
- 25.0
- 12th fewest to WRs (2026)
Our Week 1 call
Start Luther Burden III over Alec Pierce in Week 1.
Alec Pierce is listed pup on our news wire, so this is not a close call: start Luther Burden III. Drafters take Luther Burden III at ADP 58.5 overall and Alec Pierce at 64.5.
What the books imply
No sportsbook posted a player market for Luther Burden III in Week 1.
No sportsbook posted a player market for Alec Pierce in Week 1.
Week 1 matchups
Luther Burden III and CHI visit CAR.
CAR allowed 41.2 fantasy points to WRs in its one game this season, the 7th most in the league.
Receivers caught passes for 200 yards and a touchdown against CAR.
Alec Pierce and IND host BAL.
BAL allowed 25.0 fantasy points to WRs in its one game this season, the 12th fewest in the league.
Receivers caught passes for 130 yards and no touchdowns against BAL.
By points allowed to the position, Luther Burden III has the softer matchup.
Injury status
Luther Burden III was not on the injury report when the call was made.
Alec Pierce was listed as pup when the call was made.
Their 2025 seasons
In 2025, Luther Burden III played 15 games for CHI and scored 127.9 PPR points, 8.5 a game, finishing WR48.
He caught 47 of 60 targets for 652 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 4 red zone targets and 318 air yards.
He was on the field for 39 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.
Luther Burden III, Week 18 of 2025 against DET: 1 carry for 10 yards, 4 targets and 3 catches for 35 yards, 7.5 PPR points.
Luther Burden III, Week 17 of 2025 against SF: 38 of 66 snaps, 9 targets and 8 catches for 138 yards, 1 touchdown, 27.8 PPR points.
Luther Burden III, Week 15 of 2025 against CLE: 26 of 66 snaps, 7 targets and 6 catches for 84 yards, 14.4 PPR points.
In 2025, Alec Pierce played 15 games for IND and scored 183.3 PPR points, 12.2 a game, finishing WR28.
He caught 47 of 84 targets for 1003 yards and 6 touchdowns, with 8 red zone targets and 829 air yards.
He was on the field for 87 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.
Alec Pierce, Week 18 of 2025 against HOU: 7 targets and 4 catches for 132 yards, 2 touchdowns, 29.2 PPR points.
Alec Pierce, Week 17 of 2025 against JAX: 52 of 57 snaps, 5 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.
Alec Pierce, Week 16 of 2025 against SF: 58 of 60 snaps, 4 targets and 4 catches for 86 yards, 2 touchdowns, 24.6 PPR points.
Their other Week 1 calls
On the draft board
Ranked ahead
WR12 · CHI · bye 10
2025 vs anytime td line 2-13
- Overall rank
- 72
- Draft pick
- no consensus
- Tier
- 5
Ranked behind
WR44 · IND · bye 13
2025 vs anytime td line 4-11
- Overall rank
- 120
- Draft pick
- no consensus
- Tier
- 6
The board cards are draft figures, not the week's call. Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 1, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.
The gap between them
- Spots apart on the board48
- Pick differencenot comparable without a consensus on both
- Tierstier 5 and tier 6
- Board size244 draftable players
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