DeVonta Smith vs Ja'Marr Chase: Who Should You Start?
Ja'Marr Chase and DeVonta Smith are at different tiers heading into 2026. The Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver averaged 15.7 PPG in 2025, a full 6.1 points per game ahead of DeVonta Smith's 9.6 with the Philadelphia Eagles. That kind of gap doesn't close on matchup alone.
Ja'Marr Chase carries a 6.1-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. Ja'Marr Chase saw 185 targets in 2025, while DeVonta Smith drew 113. That workload gap usually translates into a higher weekly floor for Ja'Marr Chase, even in weeks where DeVonta Smith 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 Ja'Marr Chase rests in Week 12. 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.
