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James Conner or Kenneth Walker

Who Should I Start? - Week 1 • Start New
James Conner

James Conner

RB • Arizona Cardinals ARI
Kenneth Walker

Kenneth Walker

RB • Kansas City Chiefs KC
OR
🔓 EXPERT ANALYSIS

Owners starting Conner over Walker

 
 
 
 
START BOTH START BENCH BOTH BN

Includes Detailed Projections

Learn More
Outlook James Conner

Slipping Depth Chart Position and Plummeting Draft Stock Make the Veteran a Risky Bet

James Conner enters the season facing an uphill battle for fantasy relevance. At 31 years old, the veteran has slipped to third on Arizona's depth chart behind Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allgeier. This positional drop indicates a heavily reduced role, with our projections slating him for only 50 carries and 15 receptions this year.

Fantasy managers are reacting to this shift. Conner's ADP has plummeted from around 116 in early May to a late-round 167 in June. In 1.0 PPR formats, this tumbling draft stock represents a market that has rightfully soured on his volume. While he was once a reliable anchor, our models now view him as a falling knife to avoid.

With a roster ownership of just 20%, Conner is currently nothing more than a deep-league handcuff. Unless injuries strike Love or Allgeier, we project him to finish with only around 60.6 fantasy points. He is a bench stash at best for managers searching for late-season insurance.

Updated 9 hrs ago

Latest News James Conner
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🔓 EXPERT ANALYSIS

Owners starting Walker over Conner

 
 
 
 
START BOTH START BENCH BOTH BN

Includes Detailed Projections

Learn More
Outlook Kenneth Walker

High-Octane Chiefs Offense Set to Unleash Former Super Bowl MVP in a Massive Dual-Threat Role

Former Seattle standout Kenneth Walker III landed in a dream fantasy situation with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. After winning Super Bowl MVP with the Seahawks last season, Walker is locked in as Kansas City's leading back, ahead of backup Emari Demercado. Head coach Andy Reid's offense is expected to evolve, specifically featuring Walker far more in the passing game than his previous franchise did.

Reports have highlighted Walker's dramatic offseason muscle gain, preparing his body for a heavy lead workload. Our projections reflect this anticipated usage boost, forecasting 240 carries for 1,107 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, alongside 43 receptions for an additional 336 yards. That projected dual-threat versatility gives him an elite ceiling in point-per-reception formats.

Fantasy managers are aggressively buying the hype, as Walker's ADP has climbed steadily over the past month from pick 26 down to pick 19. Our models see him as a premier early-round anchor, as his high-volume role in a Mahomes-led offense makes him a potential league-winning value even at his rising draft-day cost.

Updated 9 hrs ago

Latest News Kenneth Walker
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Next Up ❱ Performance Comparison
Performance James Conner
Fantasy Chart Loading...

ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS TD
0000000
Season stats based on the past 7 days

ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS TD
0000000
Season stats based on the past 14 days
Performance Kenneth Walker
Fantasy Chart Loading...

ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS TD
271355.002260
Season stats based on the past 7 days

ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS TD
271355.002260
Season stats based on the past 14 days
Next Up ❱ Redzone Touches
Redzone Touches James Conner
REDZONE
WK OPP ATT TAR REC
1 @LAC 🔓 🔓 🔓
2 SEA 🔓 🔓 🔓
3 @SF 🔓 🔓 🔓

Redzone data is for premium members only.

Redzone Touches Kenneth Walker
REDZONE
WK OPP ATT TAR REC
1 DEN 🔓 🔓 🔓
2 IND 🔓 🔓 🔓
3 @MIA 🔓 🔓 🔓
4 @LV 🔓 🔓 🔓
5 BYE 🔓 🔓 🔓
6 LAC 🔓 🔓 🔓
7 @SEA 🔓 🔓 🔓
9 @DEN 🔓 🔓 🔓
10 NYJ 🔓 🔓 🔓
11 @ATL 🔓 🔓 🔓
12 ARI 🔓 🔓 🔓
12 @BUF 🔓 🔓 🔓
13 @LAR 🔓 🔓 🔓
14 @CIN 🔓 🔓 🔓
15 NE 🔓 🔓 🔓
16 SF 🔓 🔓 🔓
17 @LAC 🔓 🔓 🔓
18 LV 🔓 🔓 🔓
20 🔓 🔓 🔓
21 🔓 🔓 🔓
22 🔓 🔓 🔓

Redzone data is for premium members only.

Next Up ❱ Own/Start Comparison
OWN/START James Conner
OWN
20%
+3.39 compared to last week
START
 
2%
+2.04 compared to last week
OWN/START Kenneth Walker
OWN
100%
No change since last week.
START
82%
No change since last week.
Next Up ❱ Consensus Rankings
Expert Consensus James Conner
54th
Average Ranking of Fantasy Experts
Expert Consensus Kenneth Walker
11th
Average Ranking of Fantasy Experts
Next Up ❱ Player Breakdowns
Breakdown James Conner

    Overview

  • Just about every team utilizies the dreaded 'running backs by comittee' policy. Two solid #1 starters are hard to find.
  • Experts rank this player at 60th among RB's. Based on his stats from the past 30 days, he is currently ranked 74th with 25.30 total points (8.43 avg).
  • Currently 340.3 points behind the leader: Christian McCaffrey
  • He has been under achieving. Look for him to bounce back.
  • He has missed playing in at least 2 games but is not listed on the injury report as of today. Check out his player news to see if he has any nagging injuries.
  • Average points in the past two weeks have dipped quite a bit at 8.4.

    • Receiving Stats

  • Top 100 in receptions, though that isn't saying much, and is currently ranked 79th among RB.
  • Top 100 in targets, though that isn't saying much, and is currently ranked 79th among RB.
  • Top 50 in Rec TDs with 1 and is currently ranked 36th among RB.

    • Rushing Stats

  • Top 100 in rush yards with 95 (31.67 per game), though that isn't saying much, and is currently ranked 84th among RB.
  • He is top 100 in rush tds with 1 (0.33 per game), though that isn't saying much, and is currently ranked 76th among RB.

    • Bonus Qualities

  • Played in 14 less games this year than last year.
  • At this point in the season his numbers compared to last years: Rush Yards: -1149, Rush AVG: -1.7 Rush TDs: -8, Receptions: -43, Rec Yards: -430 Rec TDs: EVEN,

    • Season Outlook

  • RUSH ATT: 50, RUSH YDS: 192, RUSH TDS: 2, REC: 15, REC YDS: 110, REC TDS: 1
Breakdown Kenneth Walker

    Overview

  • Just about every team utilizies the dreaded 'running backs by comittee' policy. Two solid #1 starters are hard to find.
  • Experts rank this player at 12th among RB's. Based on his stats from the past 30 days, he is currently ranked 10th with 236.70 total points (11.27 avg).
  • Currently 128.9 points behind the leader: Christian McCaffrey
  • He is putting up the kind of numbers the experts expected him to.
  • Average points in the past two weeks have dipped quite a bit at 11.3.

    • Receiving Stats

  • Top 35 in receptions and is currently ranked 29th among RB.
  • Top 35 in targets and is currently ranked 30th among RB.
  • Ranked 146th in Rec TDs among RB.
  • Top 35 in red zone targets and is currently ranked 35th among RB.
  • Top 20 in red zone attempts and is currently ranked 19th among RB.

    • Rushing Stats

  • Top 20 in rush attempts with 232 (12.89 per game) and is currently ranked 19th among RB.
  • Top 20 in rush yards with 1098 (61.00 per game) and is currently ranked 17th among RB.
  • Top 35 in rush tds with 5 (0.28 per game) and is currently ranked 35th among RB.

    • Bonus Qualities

  • Played in 5 more games this year than last year.
  • At this point in the season his numbers compared to last years: Rush Yards: +760, Rush AVG: +1 Rush TDs: +2, Receptions: -4, Rec Yards: +114 Rec TDs: -1,
  • Unfortunately two players have the same exact name and his rating may not be entirely accurate at this point. We are working on fixing situations like this!

    • Season Outlook

  • RUSH ATT: 240, RUSH YDS: 1107, RUSH TDS: 9, REC: 43, REC YDS: 336, REC TDS: 2
Next Up ❱ Health Check
Injury James Conner

No Injury Reported

Injury Kenneth Walker

No Injury Reported

Next Up ❱ Matchup Comparison
Matchups James Conner

Week 1
Arizona Cardinals @ Los Angeles Chargers

PA/G YDS/G TO INT SACK TDs FSP
19.78283.6125205004.18
Compare to same point last season

Overview

  • Experts don"t even rank him among DST's. Either he is on a bye week or is just plain bad. Based on his stats from the past 30 days, he is currently ranked 11th with 121.00 total points (6.72 avg).
  • Currently 106 points behind the leader: Seahawks DST
  • Average points in the past two weeks have dipped quite a bit at 6.7.

Defensive Stats

  • Top 2 in total yards against with 300.29 per game and is currently ranked 1st among DST.
  • Top 10 in turnovers with 23 (1.35 per game) and is currently ranked 9th among DST.
  • Top 6 in rush defense with 1791 (105.35 per game) and is currently ranked 6th among DST.
  • Top 4 in pass defense with 3314 (194.94 per game) and is currently ranked 3rd among DST.
  • Top 10 in sacks with 45 (2.65 per game) and currently ranked 10th among DST.
  • Top 4 in interceptions with 19 (1.12 per game) and currently ranked 4th among DST.
  • Top 10 in points against with 20.00 per game and currently ranked 9th among DST.
  • Currently ranked 31st in Total TDs with 0 (0.00 per game) among DST.

Bonus Qualities

  • At this point in the season his numbers compared to last years: Total Yards Against: -56.57, Turnovers: +7 Sacks: +7, INTs: +8, TDs: -1, Points Allowed: +2.13,

Season Outlook

  • SACK: 46, INT: 13, TDS: 2, PA/G: 21.3, YDS/G: 303.1
Matchups Kenneth Walker

Week 1
Kansas City Chiefs VS Denver Broncos

PA/G YDS/G TO INT SACK TDs FSP
18.47271.2619127623.15
Compare to same point last season

Overview

  • Experts don"t even rank him among DST's. Either he is on a bye week or is just plain bad. Based on his stats from the past 30 days, he is currently ranked 4th with 160.00 total points (8.42 avg).
  • Currently 67 points behind the leader: Seahawks DST
  • Average points in the past two weeks have dipped quite a bit at 8.4.

Defensive Stats

  • Top 2 in total yards against with 303.18 per game and is currently ranked 2nd among DST.
  • Top 2 in rush defense with 1548 (91.06 per game) and is currently ranked 2nd among DST.
  • Top 6 in pass defense with 3606 (212.12 per game) and is currently ranked 6th among DST.
  • Top 2 in sacks with 68 (4.00 per game) and currently ranked 1st among DST.
  • Top 4 in points against with 18.29 per game and currently ranked 3rd among DST.
  • Currently ranked 18th in Total TDs with 2 (0.12 per game) among DST.

Bonus Qualities

  • At this point in the season his numbers compared to last years: Total Yards Against: -75.68, Turnovers: -6 Sacks: +15, INTs: -3, TDs: -3, Points Allowed: +0.47,
  • Unfortunately two players have the same exact name and his rating may not be entirely accurate at this point. We are working on fixing situations like this!

Season Outlook

  • SACK: 31, INT: 13, TDS: 3, PA/G: 19.4, YDS/G: 295.6
Next Up ❱ Ratings Comparison
Rating James Conner
5.89
FantasySP Player Rating
Rating Kenneth Walker
26.26
FantasySP Player Rating
Next Up ❱ Career Comparison
Career James Conner
RUSH RECEIVING
YEAR TEAM GP ATT YD AVG TD TGTS REC YD AVG TD
2017 PIT 12 32 144 4.5 0 1 0 0 0
2018 PIT 13 215 973 4.5 12 71 55 497 9.0 1
2019 PIT 10 116 464 4.0 4 39 34 251 7.4 3
2020 PIT 14 180 758 4.2 7 48 40 245 6.1 0
2021 ARI 15 202 752 3.7 15 39 37 375 10.1 3
2022 ARI 13 183 782 4.3 7 58 46 300 6.5 1
2023 ARI 13 208 1040 5.0 7 33 27 165 6.1 2
2024 ARI 16 236 1094 4.6 8 55 47 414 8.8 1
2025 ARI 3 32 95 3.0 1 9 8 38 4.8 1
3-YEAR AVG 14 209 972 4.7 7 49 40 293 7.3 1
Totals 109 1404 6102 4.3 61 353 294 2285 7.8 12
Career Kenneth Walker
RUSH RECEIVING
YEAR TEAM GP ATT YD AVG TD TGTS REC YD AVG TD
2022 SEA 15 228 1051 4.6 9 35 27 165 6.1 0
2023 SEA 15 219 905 4.1 8 37 29 259 8.9 1
2024 SEA 11 153 573 3.7 7 53 46 299 6.5 1
2025 SEA 16 232 1098 4.7 5 40 34 312 9.2 0
3-YEAR AVG 15 201 859 4.3 7 43 36 290 8.0 1
Totals 63 912 4003 4.4 34 177 146 1142 7.8 2
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Matchups

Week 1
ARI @LAC
ATL @PIT
BAL @IND
BUF @HOU
CAR vs CHI
CIN vs TB
CLE @JAC
DAL @NYG
DEN @KC
DET vs NO
GB @MIN
LAR vs SF
LV vs MIA
NE @SEA
NYJ @TEN
PHI vs WAS
Matchup Time Pitchers
ATH vs MIL 10:05 EDT EST
BAL vs SEA 06:35 EDT EST
BOS @TB 06:40 EDT EST
CIN @SD 09:40 EDT EST
CLE vs NYY 06:40 EDT EST
HOU @LAA 09:38 EDT EST
PHI @TOR 07:07 EDT EST
SF vs WAS 09:45 EDT EST
Matchup Time
NY vs SA 8:30 PM EST
Matchup Time
No games scheduled