Would You Rather: Start LeSean McCoy or Damien Williams in Week 2 Fantasy Football

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It's no secret that the Kansas City Chiefs have the most fantasy-friendly offense in the NFL. The highest-scoring team in the league last season, they opened 2019 with an especially impressive performance, scoring 40 points against a vaunted Jacksonville Jaguars defense that held them to 30 points in 2018.

With the hype around the offense, there was plenty of fantasy football discussion around their backfield leading up to the season. Throughout the summer you could find positive reports for any of Damien Williams, Carlos Hyde (now a Houston Texan), Darwin Thompson and, added at the end of the offseason, LeSean McCoy.

Not appearing to go with a true lead back, the Chiefs gave double-digit touches to both Williams and McCoy in Week 1, pointing to some fantasy football value for both guys.

Who Should I Start in Fantasy Football?

It's not a question of whether both can offer value (they can), but rather about who offers the most.

Williams had a significant edge over McCoy in Week 1 volume, tallying 13 carries and six targets compared to 10 carries and one target for McCoy. He also out-snapped McCoy 45 to 20.

Just based on those returns, it looks like Williams has a clear lead for Week 2 (and the rest of the season). It may not be so simple though.

Those 20 snaps were right in line with what beat writers reported McCoy would play in Week 1 as he got familiar with his new surroundings. If the gap in snap count closes, so will the gap in fantasy value.

As the primary receiving back, Williams will probably continue to offer more upside, especially with No. 1 WR Tyreek Hill on the shelf, as his absence opens up plenty of volume in the passing game.

The Chiefs are no strangers to playing with big leads though, smacking the Jags by 14 after finishing 2018 with a nine-point average margin of victory.

With McCoy profiling as more of the early-down back (Williams has played five NFL seasons and never eclipsed 100 carries), a run-heavy game flow could increase McCoy's volume late in games.

For now, Williams does have the clear edge in value, making him the much better start in Week 2. They both offer plenty of upside though (especially in a great matchup against the Oakland Raiders), and both backs could prove to be viable every-week starters for the 2019 fantasy football season.


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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.