Jaylen Waddle vs Luther Burden: Who Should You Start?
Jaylen Waddle and Luther Burden are both viable fantasy wide receivers heading into 2026, but their 2025 production tells two different stories. Jaylen Waddle averaged 10.1 PPG across 16 games with the Denver Broncos, while Luther Burden posted 7.0 PPG in 15 appearances for the Chicago Bears.
A 3.1-PPG gap gives Jaylen Waddle 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. Jaylen Waddle saw 100 targets in 2025, while Luther Burden drew 60. That workload gap usually translates into a higher weekly floor for Jaylen Waddle, even in weeks where Luther Burden posts the bigger ceiling game. Consistency-minded managers lean toward target share; boom-bust managers chase the upside.
Jaylen Waddle has his bye in Week 14, and Luther Burden rests in Week 7. 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.
