Ja'Marr Chase vs Rashee Rice: Who Should You Start?
Ja'Marr Chase (15.7 PPG) and Rashee Rice (15.5 PPG) produced nearly identical fantasy numbers in 2025. When two wide receivers are this close on a per-game basis, the weekly matchup matters more than the season-long resume. Ja'Marr Chase played 16 games for the Cincinnati Bengals; Rashee Rice suited up 8 times for the Kansas City Chiefs.
A 0.2-point per-game gap over a full season is essentially noise. It means one extra catch, one fewer target, or a single broken play away from flipping the script. For a weekly start/sit call between these two, matchup analysis matters far more than the season line.
Target volume is the story here. Ja'Marr Chase saw 185 targets in 2025, while Rashee Rice drew 78. That workload gap usually translates into a higher weekly floor for Ja'Marr Chase, even in weeks where Rashee Rice posts the bigger ceiling game. Consistency-minded managers lean toward target share; boom-bust managers chase the upside.
Bye weeks matter for roster construction: Ja'Marr Chase sits Week 12 while Rashee Rice is off Week 6. If you are deciding between the two as a season-long roster hold, the staggered byes actually work in your favor.
