Who Should I Start? Darius Cooper or Jalen Royals

BENCH

Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.		 Rush.
Yds.		 Rush
TD		 Rec. Rec.
Yds.		 Rec
TD
0.8 0.0 0.0 0.4 3.9 0.0

Darius Cooper News

Darius Cooper Making a Late Push for Redraft Relevance

Sunday, August 23, 9:26 AM

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Darius Cooper keeps stacking good days in a receiver room where there isn't much room to spare. Cooper caught three passes for 44 yards in Saturday's 24-21 loss to New England, with gains of 25 and 13 yards from Andy Dalton. The 25-yarder came on a crossing route where he broke contact, while the 13-yard grab moved the chains on fourth down. He also led Philadelphia with two catches for 21 yards in the preseason opener. Camp has looked similar. Cooper made multiple contested catches from Jalen Hurts on August 7, then beat Kobee Minor on a go route during the August 19 joint practice with New England. The current depth chart still lists him behind Dontayvion Wicks, and that's the problem for redraft. Cooper caught only nine passes for 92 yards as a rookie, while Philadelphia has plenty of other options at receiver. Still, five catches for 65 yards through two preseason games and a good camp are enough to move his stock up. He's a deeper-league name for now, with standard-league relevance dependent on climbing the depth chart.

START

Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.		 Rush.
Yds.		 Rush
TD		 Rec. Rec.
Yds.		 Rec
TD
1.3 0.1 0.0 0.6 5.7 0.0

Jalen Royals News

Jalen Royals Helps His Case for an Expanded Role in Year 2

Sunday, August 23, 6:46 AM

A fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Jalen Royals was a buzzy name throughout his first training camp with the team, and while that resulted in only two total catches as a rookie, there is still room for him to carve out a role in a receiver room in need of playmakers. While the camp hype crown has since been passed to 2026 fifth-round pick Cyrus Allen, it was Royals who led the team in targets, receptions, and yards in Saturday night's preseason loss to the Buccaneers. In a game where Chiefs backup quarterbacks Justin Fields, Garrett Nussmeier, and Chris Oladokun combined for only 130 passing yards, Royals accounted for more than a third of that total, catching all six of his targets for 51 yards. While the buzz around Allen appears warranted, Kansas City will be in search of contributions from all its young pass catchers. Royals could find early-season involvement as Rashee Rice continues to work his way back from offseason clean-up surgery to his right knee, while at the same time, 11-time Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce will turn 37 before the first month of the regular season has concluded.

Darius Cooper vs. Jalen Royals

Still trying to decide between Cooper and Royals? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Darius Cooper is projected to score 0.8 points this week while Jalen Royals is projected to score 1.3 points.