Start Javonte Williams or Kenneth Walker? Week 1

Our Week 1 call

Start Kenneth Walker over Javonte Williams in Week 1.

De-vigged player props project Kenneth Walker at 9.5 points and Javonte Williams at 9.2, a gap of 0.3. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Drafters take Kenneth Walker at ADP 23 and Javonte Williams at 31. Market coverage on Kenneth Walker is 60 percent of what his position needs, so the market side of this carries proportionally less weight.

What the books imply

Player prop markets imply 9.5 fantasy points for Kenneth Walker, with 60 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

Player prop markets imply 9.2 fantasy points for Javonte Williams, with 33 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

That puts Kenneth Walker 0.3 points ahead of Javonte Williams on the books.

Week 1 matchups

Kenneth Walker and KC host DEN on Monday at 8:15 PM ET.

DEN allowed 42.9 fantasy points to RBs in its one game this season, the 2nd most in the league.

Running backs ran for 197 yards and a touchdown against DEN and caught passes for 62 more yards.

Javonte Williams and DAL visit NYG on Sunday at 8:20 PM ET.

NYG allowed 24.9 fantasy points to RBs in its one game this season, the 13th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 55 yards and a touchdown against NYG and caught passes for 31 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Kenneth Walker has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Kenneth Walker was not on the injury report when the call was made.

Javonte Williams was not on the injury report when the call was made.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Javonte Williams played 16 games for DAL and scored 242.8 PPR points, 15.2 a game, finishing RB12.

He ran 252 times for 1201 yards and 11 touchdowns, and caught 35 of 51 targets for 137 yards.

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

Javonte Williams, Week 17 of 2025 against WAS: 25 of 92 snaps, 13 carries for 54 yards, 2 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards, 1 touchdown, 11.4 PPR points.

Javonte Williams, Week 16 of 2025 against LAC: 33 of 58 snaps, 9 carries for 34 yards, 3 targets and 2 catches for 9 yards, 6.3 PPR points.

Javonte Williams, Week 15 of 2025 against MIN: 20 of 70 snaps, 15 carries for 91 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards, 1 touchdown, 15.1 PPR points.

How Week 1 went

Kenneth Walker scored 34.1 PPR points and Javonte Williams scored 24.2.

The call was right: Kenneth Walker outscored Javonte Williams by 9.9.

Kenneth Walker finished 24.6 points above the 9.5 the props implied.

Kenneth Walker, Week 1 against DEN: 47 of 69 snaps, 23 carries for 173 yards, 6 targets and 3 catches for 18 yards, 2 touchdowns, 34.1 PPR points.

Kenneth Walker finished as the week's RB2 in PPR scoring.

Javonte Williams finished 15.0 points above the 9.2 the props implied.

Javonte Williams, Week 1 against NYG: 41 of 58 snaps, 12 carries for 41 yards, 5 targets and 5 catches for 31 yards, 2 touchdowns, 24.2 PPR points.

Javonte Williams finished as the week's RB9 in PPR scoring.

Their other Week 1 calls

• Start Kenneth Walker over Ashton Jeanty.
• Start Kenneth Walker over Breece Hall.
• Start Chase Brown over Kenneth Walker.
• Start Breece Hall over Javonte Williams.
• Start Javonte Williams over Bucky Irving.
• Start Javonte Williams over Cam Skattebo.