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Kyren Williams and D'Andre Swift entered the 2023 NFL season in very different fantasy football situations. While Williams went undrafted in most leagues after appearing to simply be a depth piece for the Los Angeles Rams, Swift served as a popular target after switching teams to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Two weeks into the 2023 season, Kyren Williams has burst onto every fantasy football radar as one of the top-performing running backs in consecutive weeks. D'Andre Swift had a disappointing Week 1 but followed it up with a strong second game.
With each of the two running backs playing on Monday Night Football in Week 3, it's fair to wonder which one makes a better fantasy football option to wrap up the week.
Is Kyren Williams a good pick in fantasy football Week 3?
Kyren Williams was originally expected to serve as a backup for Cam Akers when he joined the Los Angeles Rams during the 2023 NFL offseason. Akers was projected to be heavily featured within their offensive scheme and dominate the workload out of the backfield.
Whether or not this was actually the Rams' game plan this year or not is irrelevant at this point, all that matters is that Williams has almost exclusively taken over all of the backfield work.
Williams may have forced his way to more touches, or maybe head coach Sean McVay was planning on turning over the workload to him all along. Nevertheless, he has quickly emerged as one of the true workhorses in the NFL.
In Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks, he helped the Rams defeat their divisional rivals by outplaying Akers. He recorded 17 touches for 54 total yards and two touchdowns on his way to an impressive RB9 finish in PPR leagues.
His strong showing immediately earned him even more playing in Week 2, as he was on the football field for an incredible 95 percent of the offensive snaps against the San Francisco 49ers. He increased his output to 20 touches in his second game and was also targeted 10 times in the passing game. He turned that into 100 total yards and two more touchdowns on his way to an even stronger RB2 finish in fantasy football.
Through just two weeks, Kyren Williams has already recorded a massive 45.4 fantasy points in PPR formats. This ranks him as the RB2 overall entering Week 3, trailing only Christian McCaffrey. His meteoric rise has been extremely impressive, going from a potential depth piece to a featured back performing among the best overall fantasy football players.
Making Kyren Williams' outlook even brighter, the Rams recently decided to trade away Cam Akers to the Minnesota Vikings. The franchise obviously feels comfortable enough to allow Williams to carry the load moving forward, especially considering their lack of any other legitimate running back options on their roster.
It's truly Willaims' backfield now, so as good as he's already been, he could still be on the rise to another level. His next shot at another big performance will come on Monday Night Football in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
This matchup favors Kyren Williams as the Bengals have struggled to slow down opposing running backs, especially on zone plays. This is a specialty of the Rams' offensive scheme, so Williams could be in for a big day. The Bengals have also missed the second-most tackles through two weeks, opening the door for explosive plays and burst runs.
For managers looking to acquire Kyren Williams, make sure to consult the fantasy football trade analyzer first.
Is D'Andre Swift a good pick in fantasy football Week 3?
D'Andre Swift was one of the top overall targets in just about every fantasy draft before the 2022 NFL season when he was still with the Detroit Lions. Many believed that he was in line to be a featured back and that his elite dual-threat skillset and explosive running style gave him some of the highest fantasy upsides among all running backs.
Unfortunately for Swift and his fantasy managers, he ended up being a bust last year relative to the extremely high draft pick that was used to select him. Much of that had to do with injuries. While he only missed three games, his playing time was limited during many of his 14 games as he played through some injuries.
The Lions decided to use him sparingly in their offensive system while leaning on Jamaal Williams, in order to conserve his health. This caused his fantasy value to plummet as the year played out.
In need of a fresh start, D'Andre Swift departed the Lions and joined the Philadelphia Eagles ahead of the 2023 NFL season. The move was a polarizing one from a fantasy football perspective, with a valid case for it being either beneficial or detrimental to his overall value.
On the positive side, the Eagles feature arguably the best offensive line in the NFL and one of the best rushing schemes, ranking among the league leaders in team rushing yards per game last year.
The downside to joining the Eagles is their committee approach to running to the football. Swift will need to compete with Rashaad Penny, Kenneth Gainwell, and Boston Scott for usage out of the backfield. He would also presumably lose some of the work, and specifically touchdowns, to elite rushing quarterback Jalen Hurts.
The polarizing nature of the team switch made Swift a risky pick in fantasy drafts, with an enticingly high ceiling but also a dangerously low floor.
Through two games of the 2023 NFL season, this theory has been directly proven basedon Swift's usage and production. In Week 1, it was Kenneth Gainwell who dominated the backfield work, leaving Swift with just two touches for five total yards.
Week 2 was a completely different story, partially because Gainwell was inactive due to an injury. In his absence, Swift exploded to record 181 total yards and a touchdown on 31 touches and an excellent RB4 finish in PPR leagues.
The drastic difference in his two performances makes Swift a risky play in Week 3. He will once again have a massive ceiling, despite facing off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' stout rushing defense. His floor will also be low as his workload is still undetermined, especially with Gainwell expected to make his return this week.
It's hard to imagine Swift becoming irrelevant again after his incredible Week 2 performance, but the Eagles running back situation is tricky to predict right now.
Also Read: D'Andre Swift fantasy outlook
Kyren Williams vs. D'Andre Swift: Who should I start in Week 3?
According to Sportskeeda's Start/Sit Optimizer, Kyren Williams is a better running back option than D'Andre Swift for fantasy football in Week 3 of the 2023 NFL season. His volume is much more reliable than Swift's, significantly impacting this specific decision. While each of them averages about the same number of touches per game so far, Kyren Williams has done so much more impressively.
Kyren Williams exceeded 15 touches in both games, and that was with Cam Akers still on their roster. Now that Akers is gone, paired with Williams' 95 percent snap share last week, the Rams' running back appears primed for a massive season. Swift, on the other hand, was basically unused in Week 1 before exploding in Week 2.
The return of Kenneth Gainwell in Week 3 makes the workload distribution completely unclear, and in turn, makes Swift a massive gamble. Kyren Williams easily has a much safer floor, and arguably a higher ceiling as well, making him the preferred fantasy football option in Week 3.
