Jonnu Smith · Will Kacmarek · 2026 week 8

Jonnu Smith or Will Kacmarek?

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

Start Jonnu Smith — barelyThis one is a coin flip — the projections are within 0.8 points. The matchup leans Jonnu Smith (NE allow the 22nd-most TE points), but you can defend either call.

Player	Wk 8	Proj (PPR)	Matchup	Form L3	Trade value	Status
Jonnu Smith START	@ NE	2.0	22nd	2.8	–	Out
Will Kacmarek	vs NE	1.2	22nd	1.8	–	healthy

TEs vs NE recently: Brock Bowers 15 pts (W5) · Mason Taylor 3.3 pts (W6) · Colston Loveland 12.9 pts (W7).

🎓 The coach's read

Projections are 0.8 apart — too close to call on projection alone.
Jonnu Smith faces NE, 22nd most generous to TEs.
Jonnu Smith is flagged OUT.
Will Kacmarek faces NE, 22nd most generous to TEs.

Who wins a straight-up trade?

Their trade values are effectively even — a one-for-one is a fair swap on the numbers.

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

More TE decisions

All numbers are the 2026 season, refreshed nightly.