Emari Demercado · Emmett Johnson · 2026 week 1

Emari Demercado or Emmett Johnson?

Wondering who you should start this week — Emari Demercado or Emmett Johnson? The start/sit call and the numbers behind it are below, plus who wins a straight-up trade. Rebuilt nightly.

Start Emmett Johnson — barelyThis one is a coin flip — the projections are within 1.3 points. The matchup leans Emmett Johnson (DEN allow the 29th-most RB points), but you can defend either call.

Player	Wk 1	Proj (PPR)	Matchup	Form L3	Trade value	Status
Emari Demercado	vs IND	2.6	22nd	4.6	–	healthy
Emmett Johnson START	vs DEN	3.9	29th · tough	–	152	healthy

RBs vs IND recently: Christian McCaffrey 26.6 pts (W16) · Travis Etienne 9.2 pts (W17) · British Brooks 6.3 pts (W18).

RBs vs DEN recently: Travis Etienne 12.6 pts (W16) · Brashard Smith 6.5 pts (W17) · Jaret Patterson 3.7 pts (W18).

Who wins a straight-up trade?

Emmett Johnson carries the higher trade value — 152 against 0. In a one-for-one, the side receiving Emmett Johnson gets the most.

Open in Start/Sit (any scoring) Open in the Trade Analyzer

More RB decisions

Emari Demercado or Isiah Pacheco?Emari Demercado or Malik Davis?Emari Demercado or Najee Harris?Emmett Johnson or Kaelon Black?Emmett Johnson or Tyjae Spears?Emmett Johnson or Brian Robinson?

Game logs, matchup ranks and form are the 2025 season — 2026 hasn’t kicked off. Projections, schedule and trade values are current 2026 numbers, refreshed nightly.