DeVonta Smith vs. Saquon Barkley: Who Should You Start in Week 8?

Start DeVonta Smith. Smith is projected for 13.8 PPR points vs 11.4 for Saquon Barkley, and faces the 6th-softest defense against WRs this week.

Updated Oct 30, 7:29 AM ET

DeVonta Smith vs. Saquon Barkley: Week 8 side by side

DeVonta Smith
WR · PHI
Saquon Barkley
RB · PHI
Projection (Week 8, avg of sources)13.811.4
Floor (lowest source)12.01.0
Ceiling (highest source)15.916.6
StatChasers projection—16.6 (RB10)
Opponentvs WASvs WAS
Opponent vs. position6th-softest (35.9 pts/g allowed)7th-toughest (19.0 pts/g allowed)
Recent usage34% target share (last 3)34% carry share (last 3)
PositionWRRB
Our callSTART · WR2START · Strong RB1

Settle every start/sit call with projections, matchup, recent usage and floor-versus-ceiling for your exact scoring settings.

DeVonta Smith vs. Saquon Barkley Week 8 Start/Sit FAQ

Should I start DeVonta Smith or Saquon Barkley in Week 8?

Start DeVonta Smith. Smith projects for 13.8 PPR points vs WAS, against 11.4 for Saquon Barkley vs WAS: a 2.4-point edge.

The projection is the average of every source that carries each player this week, and a player listed Out or Doubtful is never the start.

DeVonta Smith vs. Saquon Barkley: who will score more fantasy points in Week 8?

DeVonta Smith is projected to score more: 13.8 PPR points to 11.4 for Saquon Barkley.

The sources range from 12.0 to 15.9 for Smith and from 1.0 to 16.6 for Barkley. The ranges overlap, so Barkley outscoring Smith is a realistic result.

Who is the safer start in Week 8, DeVonta Smith or Saquon Barkley?

DeVonta Smith is the safer start: even the most cautious projection source has Smith at 12.0 PPR points, against 1.0 for Saquon Barkley.

Start the higher floor when you are favored and only need to avoid a dud.

Who has the higher ceiling in Week 8, DeVonta Smith or Saquon Barkley?

Saquon Barkley has the higher ceiling: the most optimistic projection source has Barkley at 16.6 PPR points, against 15.9 for DeVonta Smith.

Start the higher ceiling when you are the underdog and need points more than safety.

Who has the better matchup in Week 8, DeVonta Smith or Saquon Barkley?

DeVonta Smith plays WAS and Saquon Barkley plays WAS in Week 8.

By fantasy points allowed to each position, Smith faces the 6th-softest defense against WRs and Barkley faces the 7th-toughest defense against RBs, so DeVonta Smith has the softer matchup.

Each projection already accounts for the opponent, so a soft matchup is a tiebreaker, not a reason to bench the higher projection.

Who gets more volume, DeVonta Smith or Saquon Barkley?

Over his recent games DeVonta Smith has drawn 34% of his team's targets, and Saquon Barkley 34% of his team's carries.

Does PPR scoring change DeVonta Smith vs. Saquon Barkley?

These numbers are in PPR. Full PPR adds a point per catch, so it helps whichever player sees more targets, which here is DeVonta Smith.

Switch between PPR, Half PPR and Standard on the board above to rescore both players from the same sources.

Are DeVonta Smith and Saquon Barkley playing in Week 8?

Neither DeVonta Smith nor Saquon Barkley has an injury designation for Week 8.

Designations change through the week, so check again before kickoff; this page updates with each refresh.

Where do the DeVonta Smith and Saquon Barkley projections come from?

Each figure is the average of the projection sources that carry the player this week: StatChasers, Sleeper, ESPN, numberFire, FFToday and the betting markets (sportsbook player props). DeVonta Smith is projected by 4 of them and Saquon Barkley by 6.

A source with no number for a player is left out of the average rather than counted as a zero.

Other comparisons

Other DeVonta Smith comparisons

Other Saquon Barkley comparisons