Who Should I Start? Jalen Royals or Arian Smith

Wednesday, October 8, 11:09 AM

Kansas City Chiefs rookie wide receiver Jalen Royals missed the first two games of the 2025 season with a knee injury. He's been active in each of the team's last three games, but Royals has not yet been targeted by Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The 22-year-old appears buried on Kansas City's wide receiver depth chart behind Xavier Worthy, Marquise Brown, Tyquan Thornton, and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Royals could fall down the depth chart even further in Week 7 when top Chiefs wideout Rashee Rice is eligible to return from suspension. Royals maintains some appeal in dynasty leagues, but he should remain off the radar of redraft fantasy managers for the time being.

Saturday, October 11, 3:51 PM

New York Jets wide receiver Arian Smith should see the field more in Week 6 when his team takes on the Denver Broncos at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. The rookie has amassed just five targets and four catches through five games in 2025. However, with the news that teammate Allen Lazard (personal) will be ruled out this Sunday, Smith should get a bit of extra run behind fellow wideouts Josh Reynolds and Garrett Wilson. The path to fantasy relevance is narrow, particularly with tight end Mason Taylor carving out a significant target share from quarterback Justin Fields. Still, New York may be forced to air it out a bit more with Denver's defense allowing the fifth-fewest rushing yards per game to opposing ground attacks (88.4). Smith isn't an option in season-long lineup leagues, but he's worth monitoring for dynasty purposes. The former Georgia Bulldog is RotoBaller's PPR WR116 for his matchup with the Broncos.