Should I start Aaron Jones Sr. or Michael Penix Jr. in Week 8?

Updated Oct 28, 6:16 AM ET. Week 9 answers post Tuesday.

Latest

Oct 25, 3:43 PM ET: Aaron Jones Sr.: Listed Questionable (Undisclosed) (Sleeper injury feed)

Start Michael Penix Jr.: 99 percent of the snaps and 0 percent of the targets over their last game, against Aaron Jones Sr.'s 25 percent of the snaps and 30 percent of the carries. No market projection is posted on either of them this week, so this is a usage call, and a lower confidence one than a call made on a projection. What follows is what each of them has done.

Should I drop Michael Penix Jr. for Aaron Jones Sr.?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Aaron Jones Sr. projects 141 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (14.1 a game over 10 games), Michael Penix Jr. 132 (14.7 a game over 9 games). Aaron Jones Sr. is listed questionable.

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Neither man carries a season projection right now, so this is their usage this season and their last full season's numbers, side by side.

Aaron Jones Sr.

RB34 · MIN · bye 6

2026 vs carries line 5-1

Market-based projection: 10.9 pts a game Wk 7 price
Overall rank: 98

Michael Penix Jr.

QB15 · ATL · bye 11

2026 vs pass yds line 2-3

Overall rank: 99

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The gap

Board size296 draftable players

Draft data is not current for these two, so the figures that depend on it are left out. The call above comes from each player's usage.

Where the draft room stands

Live drafts hold no current pick on Aaron Jones Sr., and the board ranks him 98th overall on the rest of his evidence.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Michael Penix Jr., and the board ranks him 99th overall on the rest of his evidence.

The market-based projections

The market has Aaron Jones Sr. at 3.5 PPR points a game off 1 market across 12 market sources. That is 30 percent of what a running back's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

The market has Michael Penix Jr. at 16.0 PPR points a game off 4 markets across 7 market sources. That is 80 percent of what a quarterback's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

Aaron Jones Sr.'s projection is not complete, so the two figures are not set against each other here.

This season through Week 7

Through Week 7, Aaron Jones Sr. has been on the field for 25 percent of MIN snaps, taken 30 percent of the carries, drawn 4 percent of the targets and had 20 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 0 of the offence's 8 third down targets, had 0 of its 1 chance inside the five and seen 0 of its 1 two minute target.

His 1 target have averaged 0.0 air yards.

In Week 7 against IND he carried 8 times for 26 yards, caught 1 of 1 target for 0 yards and did not score.

Through Week 7, Michael Penix Jr. has been on the field for 99 percent of ATL snaps, dropped back 34 times and thrown 6.1 air yards an attempt.

He has been sacked or hit on 0 of 34 dropbacks and scrambled 1 time.

In Week 7 against SF he completed 25 of 33 passes for 213 yards, threw 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 2 times for 2 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 Aaron Jones Sr. played 12 games and scored 118.7 PPR points, 9.9 a game, finishing RB41.

He carried 132 times for 548 yards and 2 touchdowns, and caught 28 of 41 targets for 199 more yards.

That came to 11.0 carries a game at 4.2 yards a carry and 2.3 catches a game.

He was on the field for 55 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

In 2025 Michael Penix Jr. played 9 games and scored 123.3 PPR points, 13.7 a game, finishing QB33.

He threw for 1982 yards on 276 attempts with 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, and ran for 70 yards and 1 touchdown.

That came to 30.7 attempts a game at 7.2 yards an attempt.

He was on the field for 93 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

Aaron Jones Sr. was available for 3 games more.

Side by side

In 2025 Michael Penix Jr. scored 13.7 PPR points a game and Aaron Jones Sr. 9.9, 3.8 a game between them.

Aaron Jones Sr. finished RB41 and Michael Penix Jr. QB33, which are two different ladders.

Aaron Jones Sr. is a running back and Michael Penix Jr. a quarterback, so the question is which slot you fill first rather than which of them is better.

Byes and availability

Aaron Jones Sr. is off in Week 6 and Michael Penix Jr. in Week 11, so either can cover the other's bye.

Aaron Jones Sr. is listed as questionable on the injury report.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Michael Penix Jr. for Aaron Jones Sr.?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Aaron Jones Sr. projects 141 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (14.1 a game over 10 games), Michael Penix Jr. 132 (14.7 a game over 9 games). Aaron Jones Sr. is listed questionable.
Should I drop Aaron Jones Sr. for Michael Penix Jr.?
No. Keep Aaron Jones Sr.: he projects 141 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (14.1 a game over 10 games), Michael Penix Jr. 132 (14.7 a game over 9 games). Aaron Jones Sr. is listed questionable.

Should I drop Aaron Jones Sr.?