Fantasy Football Draft Strategy Mailbag: Javonte Williams vs. Kyren Williams And More

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Mailbag for Fantasy Football Draft Strategy

Chris - NC - Javonte Williams or Kyren WIlliams in PPR?

HEY! We have a great article on this topic that I have to shoutout first right here. I have both relatively close in my fantasy football rankings, but I am giving the edge to Javonte Williams here. Javonte Williams was one of my biggest mistakes last season when I passed on him in drafts and he went on to have a great year. Not only did he score 13 touchdowns, but he also had career-best marks in carries, rushing yards, touches, scrimmage yards and yards per carry. The downside was that he didn't have a receiving role—his 2.7 yards per target was last among qualified RBs.

Now with Kyren Williams, he lost a bit of backfield control with Blake Corum working in, but he still put up a solid fantasy season. This is another running back who doesn't do too much as a receiver (he has never cleared 36 catches in a season), but he does get more receiving work than Corum. Kyren beat Corum in route rate (60% to 34%), target share (8% to 3%), long-down-and-distance snaps (72% to 22%), and 2-minute work (95% to 4%) last season. The big concern here is Corum's 38% snap share inside the 5, which is why Javonte is my pick.

The Cowboys didn't add anyone to their backfield and while Jaydon Blue could have a bigger role this season, he is still only projected for 45 rush attempts this season in our fantasy football projections.

Dre - NJ - What round should Malik Nabers be drafted?

If you would have asked me this question just a few days ago, I would say I am not drafting Malik Nabers at his current price because of the risk that comes with his return from injury. BUT, now we have some news that could really change things. According to Jordan Raanan, Malik Nabers is not expected to begin training camp on the physically unable to perform list. It's important to note, though, that in Raanan's report that the Giants are not only expected to bring him along slowly, but also "just because he's not on PUP, that doesn't mean he will be practicing immediately."

Even with this report, I haven't moved Nabers in my rankings, and I would still be cautious about drafting him in the second round.

Overall this is a very positive report. As a refresher, Nabers tore his ACL Week 4 against the Chargers and had to undergo two surgeries, one in October of 2025 and another this offseason to remove scar tissue.  There is still a lot that we need to see in training camp before really diving back into Nabers at cost and there will be assumed risk.

Kevin - OH - What do you think David Njoku’s role will look like on his new team? Do you think he is worth picking up late in best ball drafts?

I don't mind a late-round pick on David Njoku in best ball formats, but his role may not be very prominent for the Chargers. He agreed to a one-year deal for up to $8M a couple months ago, which added to the tight end room—they now have Njoku, Charlie Kolar, and more importantly Oronde Gadsden.

Njoku had a down year in 2025 because of injuries, bad quarterback play and having to battle rookie Harold Fannin. Njoku had a 57% route rate for the season and only three weeks of a TE9 finish or better.

I don't think the route rate is going to change much here and in traditional redraft formats you won't need to worry about drafting him. If you do take him in best ball, you're hoping that Njoku has a role in the red zone like we've seen throughout his career. He locked down a 20% end-zone target share in 2025 and 33% in both 2023 and 2024. This is more of a part-time player profile with touchdown-scoring upside.

Wilson - Iowa - What’s your thoughts on Devonta Smith outperforming Drake London this year?

Dang, that would be a huge season for DeVonta Smith, but would we be totally shocked? I have Drake London ranked as my WR7 and Smith as my WR10. Smith no longer has A.J. Brown to share targets with and London is heading into a not very pretty quarterback situation for 2026.

Here are their projections for this season:

London: 140 targets, 93 receptions, 1,204 yards and 8 touchdowns

Smith: 122 targets, 89 receptions, 1,148 yards and 7 touchdowns

With Brown gone and Sean Mannion as the new OC, it feels like this is the environment where Smith can reach his ceiling. I don't think he fits the mold of being the next Jaxon Smith-Njigba—only because JSN was heavily targeted and there weren't many mouths to feed around him. The Eagles will still utilize Saquon Barkley, Dallas Goedert, Makai Lemon, etc. The outs for Smith are there, though, and I believe a big season is coming.

Jake - NY - DJ Moore will be this year’s JSN!

Listen, I love DJ Moore but I'm not entirely sold on this one … BUT I LOVE THE OPTIMISM!

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