Jaxon Smith-Njigba vs Malik Nabers: Who Should You Start?
Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Malik Nabers are both viable fantasy wide receivers heading into 2026, but their 2025 production tells two different stories. Jaxon Smith-Njigba averaged 17.7 PPG across 17 games with the Seattle Seahawks, while Malik Nabers posted 12.0 PPG in 4 appearances for the New York Giants.
A 5.7-PPG gap gives Jaxon Smith-Njigba 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. Jaxon Smith-Njigba saw 163 targets in 2025, while Malik Nabers drew 35. That workload gap usually translates into a higher weekly floor for Jaxon Smith-Njigba, even in weeks where Malik Nabers posts the bigger ceiling game. Consistency-minded managers lean toward target share; boom-bust managers chase the upside.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba has his bye in Week 10, and Malik Nabers 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.
