Saquon Barkley vs Ja'Marr Chase

“With a new offensive coordinator and a healthy offensive line, it's not hard to start seeing the positives for Barkley. The Eagles running back is the undoubted No. 1 RB on an offense that will score points.”

“Barkley had an absurd number of touches in 2024 and ran hot on explosive runs. Once he and the Eagles were hit with regression, it was no wonder things crashed back to Earth.”

“Over the last two seasons, Barkley has averaged just 35 receptions for 275 receiving yards and two touchdowns. A decline in per-touch efficiency, as he nears 30, is also working against him, as he has steadily transitioned away from being a big-play threat and into more of a volume-based option at running back.”

“This means that former Jaguars back Tank Bigsby is likely the man behind Saquon Barkley to start the season. Barkley has been relatively healthy the past several seasons, though he is coming off his worst fantasy finish since 2021. Barkley is also on the precipice of his age-29 season, the age at which most running backs begin to decline rapidly in efficiency.”

“Saquon Barkley (RB, Eagles) was the top-rated player from the NFL Top 100 for the 2025 season.”

“He averaged 14.5 PPR fantasy points per game last season, his lowest mark since 2021. Furthermore, Barkley averaged 4.1 yards per rushing attempt and had 13 breakaway runs last year. By comparison, he averaged 5.8 yards per rushing attempt and had 25 breakaway runs during his 2024 fantasy MVP season. After finishing last year as the RB14, fantasy players should avoid drafting Barkley at his $31 value, the ninth-highest among running backs.”

“Barkley's target volume will be heavily dependent on Mannion's concerted effort to design opportunities for him. Should he neglect to do so, this will be more mediocre usage of one of the team's most explosive assets.”

“Barkley is a major beneficiary of this system, which heavily prioritizes RBs in the passing game via designed screens, wheel routes, and play-action checkdowns. In Mannion's timing-based scheme, play-action will freeze second-level defenders, leaving Barkley wide open on underneath routes to turn his 60 projected targets into high-value PPR production.”

“Landing Saquon Barkley at pick 2.12 was ideal.”

“They also noted declines in some of Barkley's efficiency metrics over the last two seasons and questioned whether Philadelphia's offensive line could remain dominant enough to support another elite finish.”

“A major point raised was the historical difficulty of repeating massive workload seasons. The hosts emphasized that Barkley benefited from outstanding offensive line play and extremely favorable rushing conditions during his huge 2024 campaign.”

“A more efficient, timing-based structure should unlock a monster bounce-back season for Barkley, which in turn makes life easier for Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith.”

“Chase has averaged 115+ catches, 1,400+ receiving yards and 10+ touchdowns over the last three years, and Joe Burrow is coming into 2026 100% healthy.”

“Chase has led the league in targets each of the last two years. He's averaged 6.7 catches and 87.7 yards per game over his five-year career. Chase also gets to play with Joe Burrow, one of the best pure passers in the game.”

“Much of Chase's ceiling is tied to Joe Burrow's health. In games with Burrow at quarterback since Chase was drafted, he averages 0.78 touchdowns and 20.67 PPR points. In the games without Burrow, those numbers drop to 0.33 touchdowns and 15.48 points.”

“For two consecutive seasons, Chase has led the league in targets with 175 and 185, respectively. Chase also has two years with 1,400+ receiving yards, and his consistency is worth paying for.”

“The only question mark is the consistency beyond Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, with the Bengals' next most targeted wide receivers combining for a 16% drop rate while Chase and Higgins were at 4% combined.”

“Ja'Marr Chase, Bengals (4) was the highest rated Wide Receiver in the NFL Top 100 for 2025.”

“One player who notably looks worse in per-route data compared to his annual ADP is Higgins' teammate — Ja'Marr Chase. However, I don't think anyone seriously believes this means Chase isn't one of the best wide receivers in the NFL.”

“In five years in the league, Chase has averaged 1,490 yards a season.”

“The same goes for elite wideouts like Ja'Marr Chase and Puka Nacua. But they are knocked down a peg or two by the top-tier quarterbacks.”

“Using this year's board, let's say you take Ja'Marr Chase at 1.01. You pick at 24 and 25.”

“The idea behind "Stars & Scrubs" is to build your team primarily around a few star players. For example, you may be able to walk away with Ja'Marr Chase, Jahmyr Gibbs and someone like Christian McCaffrey, but this will leave you with a significantly lower budget for the remaining picks.”

“Ja'Marr Chase come to mind as an NFL player who has the same WR1 year-over-year and isn't going anywhere, set to produce for fantasy teams once again in 2026.”