Start Kyren Williams or Bucky Irving? Week 9

Updated Nov 4, 5:21 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 10 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Kyren Williams over Bucky Irving

Start

Kyren Williams

RB · LAR · at WAS

Market projects: 15.7; fantasy pts
WAS D vs RB: 19.5; 9th fewest to RBs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 74 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 68%; Through Week 8
Target share: 14%; Through Week 8

Sit

Bucky Irving

RB · TB · at CHI

Market projects: 13.8; fantasy pts
CHI D vs RB: 17.8; 3rd fewest to RBs (2026)
Upside: Moderate; 47 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 63%; Through Week 8
Target share: 11%; Through Week 8

Should I drop Bucky Irving for Kyren Williams?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Kyren Williams projects 134 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (16.7 a game over 8 games), Bucky Irving 103 (12.9 a game over 8 games). For Week 9 the call starts Kyren Williams over Bucky Irving, 15.7 to 13.8 projected PPR points.

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Our Week 9 call

Start Kyren Williams over Bucky Irving in Week 9.

Market-based projections have Kyren Williams at 15.7 points and Bucky Irving at 13.8, a gap of 1.9. Drafters take Kyren Williams at ADP 28 and Bucky Irving at 45.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 15.7 fantasy points for Kyren Williams, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Kyren Williams is 60 rushing yards, 20 receiving yards, 2-3 receptions and 0.9 touchdowns (12, 12, 12 and 14 market sources).

Player markets imply 13.8 fantasy points for Bucky Irving, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Bucky Irving is 64 rushing yards, 14 receiving yards, 2-3 receptions and 0.6 touchdowns (14, 4, 4 and 10 market sources).

That puts Kyren Williams 1.9 points ahead of Bucky Irving on the market projections.

Week 9 matchups

Kyren Williams and LAR visit WAS on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

WAS allowed 19.5 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 7 games, the 9th fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 76 yards and 0.7 touchdowns a game against WAS and caught passes for 36 more yards.

Bucky Irving and TB visit CHI on Sunday at 8:20 PM ET.

CHI allowed 17.8 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 8 games, the 3rd fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 72 yards and 0.4 touchdowns a game against CHI and caught passes for 33 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Kyren Williams has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Kyren Williams is not on the injury report.

Bucky Irving is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 9

Through Week 8, Kyren Williams played 68 percent of LAR snaps, took 55 percent of the carries, drew 14 percent of the targets and had 34 percent of the red zone chances.

Kyren Williams, Week 5 against BUF: 60 of 82 snaps, 16 carries for 49 yards, 8 targets and 6 catches for 27 yards, 1 touchdown.

Kyren Williams, Week 6 against ARI: 42 of 58 snaps, 10 carries for 50 yards, 6 targets and 3 catches for 17 yards.

Kyren Williams, Week 7 against LV: 37 of 72 snaps, 16 carries for 99 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 22 yards, 1 touchdown.

Kyren Williams, Week 8 against LAC: 37 of 54 snaps, 16 carries for 56 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 3 yards, 1 touchdown.

Through Week 8, Bucky Irving played 63 percent of TB snaps, took 57 percent of the carries, drew 11 percent of the targets and had 45 percent of the red zone chances.

Bucky Irving, Week 5 against DAL: 39 of 72 snaps, 21 carries for 165 yards, 3 targets and 2 catches for 10 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Bucky Irving, Week 6 against PIT: 63 of 74 snaps, 19 carries for 46 yards, 3 targets and 2 catches for 3 yards.

Bucky Irving, Week 7 against CAR: 37 of 63 snaps, 24 carries for 106 yards, 2 targets and 1 catch for 4 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Bucky Irving, Week 8 against ATL: 30 of 60 snaps, 27 carries for 170 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards, 1 touchdown.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Kyren Williams played 17 games for LAR and scored 263.3 PPR points, 15.5 a game, finishing RB9.

He ran 259 times for 1252 yards and 10 touchdowns, and caught 36 of 50 targets for 281 yards.

He was on the field for 68 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Bucky Irving played 10 games for TB and scored 138.5 PPR points, 13.9 a game, finishing RB34.

He ran 173 times for 588 yards and 1 touchdown, and caught 30 of 35 targets for 277 yards.

He was on the field for 62 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 9 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 9, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Bucky Irving for Kyren Williams?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Kyren Williams projects 134 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (16.7 a game over 8 games), Bucky Irving 103 (12.9 a game over 8 games). For Week 9 the call starts Kyren Williams over Bucky Irving, 15.7 to 13.8 projected PPR points.
Should I drop Kyren Williams for Bucky Irving?
No. Keep Kyren Williams: he projects 134 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (16.7 a game over 8 games), Bucky Irving 103 (12.9 a game over 8 games). For Week 9 the call starts Kyren Williams over Bucky Irving, 15.7 to 13.8 projected PPR points.

Should I drop Bucky Irving?Should I drop Kyren Williams?

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