DK Metcalf vs Jalen McMillan: Who Should You Start?
DK Metcalf and Jalen McMillan are both viable fantasy wide receivers heading into 2026, but their 2025 production tells two different stories. DK Metcalf averaged 10.5 PPG across 15 games with the Pittsburgh Steelers, while Jalen McMillan posted 6.0 PPG in 4 appearances for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
A 4.5-PPG gap gives DK Metcalf the edge on paper, but paper does not account for Thursday night matchups, weather games, or a star defender returning from injury. The real question is not who was better in 2025, but who is the better start this specific week.
Target volume is the story here. DK Metcalf saw 99 targets in 2025, while Jalen McMillan drew 15. That workload gap usually translates into a higher weekly floor for DK Metcalf, even in weeks where Jalen McMillan posts the bigger ceiling game. Consistency-minded managers lean toward target share; boom-bust managers chase the upside.
DK Metcalf has his bye in Week 9, and Jalen McMillan 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.
