DeVonta Smith vs Jalen Coker: Who Should You Start?
Two wide receivers who will land on plenty of the same rosters in 2026. DeVonta Smith (Philadelphia Eagles) finished the 2025 season averaging 9.6 fantasy points per game in 17 games. Jalen Coker (Carolina Panthers) came in at 6.7 PPG over 11 games. The gap is real but not insurmountable with the right matchup.
DeVonta Smith carries a 2.9-point PPG advantage from the 2025 season. That baseline matters, but it is one input among several. Matchup difficulty, scoring trends, and injury reports move the needle week to week, which is why the best answer changes depending on when you are asking.
Target volume is the story here. DeVonta Smith saw 113 targets in 2025, while Jalen Coker drew 43. That workload gap usually translates into a higher weekly floor for DeVonta Smith, even in weeks where Jalen Coker posts the bigger ceiling game. Consistency-minded managers lean toward target share; boom-bust managers chase the upside.
DeVonta Smith has his bye in Week 5, and Jalen Coker rests in Week 11. Managers rostering both need waiver wire depth at wide receiver for those two weeks, and that is exactly the kind of planning DraftCall's matchup engine surfaces automatically so you are not scrambling on a Sunday morning.
