Alvin Kamara or Makai Lemon: Who Should You Start?
2026 Week 3 · deterministic head-to-head · Verdicts based on PPR scoring.
Start Kamara — the projection and consensus rank edges are too wide to ignore.
Alvin Kamara projects 9.6 to Lemon's 7.3 and is the higher consensus play (RB48 to WR50). Lemon's edge is snap share, 64% to 29%. The gap is narrow.
Alvin Kamara
7.68.69.6 Projected Points
Makai Lemon
4.96.17.3 Projected Points
Alvin Kamara’s market
Makai Lemon’s market
Why Alvin Kamara
SitVeteran RB2 in complementary role. Elite receiving back with elusive short-area footwork, now sharing the backfield.
Sit — bench-tier RB at consensus RB48: LV is the 11th-toughest matchup vs RBs, 9% target share.
- LV ranks 11 of 32 against RBs (one of the tougher matchups, 2-game sample).
- Vegas implies 23.0 team points as 3.5-point favorites.
- Listed RB on the latest depth chart with a 29% snap share.
Latest on Kamara
In Week 2, Kamara led the Saints backfield with a 33% rush share and 18% target share, tripling Etienne's workload in his first game back from injury.
CBS Sports · Sep 23, 2026Saints running back Alvin Kamara has "no limitations," was a full participant in practice and says his knee feels good only one month after spraining his MCL in practice.
The team's all-time leader in rushing yards beat the projected recovery timeline and will play on Sunday
Katherine Terrell discusses the injury statuses of running back Alvin Kamara and defensive lineman Cam Jordan.
Reported by the sources listed — not independently verified.
Why Makai Lemon
Toss-UpRookie WR3 in slot-heavy role. Quick separator with reliable hands and yards-after-catch juice.
Toss-up — WR50 consensus, projects WR66 this week: 9% target share, 7.3 PPR projected vs CHI.
- CHI ranks 13 of 32 against WRs (a middle-of-the-road matchup, 2-game sample).
- Vegas implies 22.5 team points as 1.5-point underdogs.
- Listed WR-3 on the latest depth chart with a 64% snap share.
Head-to-head stats
| Metric | Alvin Kamara | Makai Lemon |
|---|---|---|
| Projected points | 7.68.69.6 | 4.96.17.3 |
| Consensus rank | RB48 | WR50 |
| Opponent vs position | LV · 11 of 322-game sample | CHI · 13 of 322-game sample |
| Rushing Yards | 11 of 32 | — |
| Rushing TDs | 10 of 32 | — |
| Rushing Attempts | 11 of 32 | — |
| Receptions | 7 of 32 | 6 of 32 |
| Receiving Yards | 19 of 32 | 17 of 32 |
| Anytime TD | 9 of 32 | 15 of 32 |
| Receiving TDs | — | 15 of 32 |
| Targets | — | 10 of 32 |
| Target share | 9% | 9% |
| Reception share | 10% | 10% |
| Implied total · spread | 23.0-3.5 | 22.5+1.5 |
| Depth chart | RB2 | WR3 |
| Snap share | 29% | 64% |
| Start/Sit record | — | 0–1 |
Recent form
Alvin Kamara — last 2 weeks
| Week 2 | vs BAL | 2.24.77.2 |
| Week 1 | vs DET | 0.00.00.0 |
Makai Lemon — last 2 weeks
| Week 2 | vs TEN | 0.91.41.9 |
| Week 1 | vs WSH | -0.51.02.5 |
Signal breakdown
- 9.6 vs 7.3 projected PPR pointsAlvin Kamara +
- Rank 48 vs 50Alvin Kamara +
- Opponent DvP rank 11 vs 13 (32 = softest)even
- Implied 23.0 vs 22.5 team pointsAlvin Kamara +
- No injury designationseven
- 29% vs 64% snap shareMakai Lemon +
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