Should I start Patrick Mahomes or Bryce Young in Week 9?
Updated Nov 3, 4:36 AM ET. Week 10 answers post Tuesday.
Week 9 verdict
Start Patrick Mahomes over Bryce Young
Mahomes projects lower, 16.4 to 16.9, and still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player: ADP 107 for Mahomes, 212 for Young.
- Market projects
- 16.4
- recent weeks avg
- NYJ D vs QB
- 16.7
- 15th fewest to QBs (2026)
- Snap share
- 100%
- Through Week 8
- Market projects
- 16.9
- recent weeks avg
- DEN D vs QB
- 16.1
- 12th fewest to QBs (2026)
- Snap share
- 95%
- Through Week 8
Start Patrick Mahomes: 100 percent of the snaps and 0 percent of the targets over their last 3 games, against Bryce Young's 94 percent of the snaps and 0 percent of the targets. 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 Bryce Young for Patrick Mahomes?
Not on these numbers alone. Bryce Young projects 152 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (16.9 a game over 9 games) and Patrick Mahomes 154 (17.1 a game over 9 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 9 the call starts Patrick Mahomes over Bryce Young.
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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.
QB17 · KC · bye 5
2026 vs pass yds line 4-3
- Market-based projection
- 16.0 pts a game Wk 8 price
- Overall rank
- 124
QB24 · CAR · bye 5
2026 vs pass yds line 5-2
- Market-based projection
- 17.0 pts a game Wk 8 price
- Overall rank
- 150
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The gap
- Board size297 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 Patrick Mahomes, and the board ranks him 124th overall on the rest of his evidence.
Live drafts hold no current pick on Bryce Young, and the board ranks him 150th overall on the rest of his evidence.
In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 40.
The market-based projections
The market-based projection for Patrick Mahomes is 1.4 PPR points a game off 1 market across 1 market source. That is 0 percent of what a quarterback's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.
The market-based projection for Bryce Young is 0.9 PPR points a game off 1 market across 1 market source. That is 0 percent of what a quarterback's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.
Patrick Mahomes's projection is not complete, so the two figures are not set against each other here.
This season through Week 8
Through Week 8, Patrick Mahomes has been on the field for 100 percent of KC snaps, dropped back 254 times and thrown 5.8 air yards an attempt.
He has been sacked or hit on 41 of 254 dropbacks and scrambled 13 times.
In Week 6 against LAC he completed 23 of 30 passes for 272 yards, threw 0 touchdowns and 1 interception and ran 3 times for 19 yards.
In Week 7 against SEA he completed 19 of 33 passes for 165 yards, threw 0 touchdowns and 1 interception and ran 2 times for 14 yards.
In Week 8 against DEN he completed 30 of 41 passes for 321 yards, threw 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 2 times for 6 yards.
Through Week 8, Bryce Young has been on the field for 95 percent of CAR snaps, dropped back 296 times and thrown 8.1 air yards an attempt.
He has been sacked or hit on 50 of 296 dropbacks and scrambled 6 times.
In Week 6 against PHI he completed 20 of 39 passes for 281 yards, threw 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 1 time for 8 yards.
In Week 7 against TB he completed 14 of 27 passes for 163 yards, threw 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions and ran 1 time for 9 yards.
In Week 8 against GB he completed 23 of 40 passes for 209 yards and threw 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
Their 2025 seasons
In 2025 Patrick Mahomes played 14 games and scored 296.7 PPR points, 21.2 a game, finishing QB11.
He threw for 3587 yards on 502 attempts with 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and ran for 422 yards and 5 touchdowns.
That came to 35.9 attempts a game at 7.1 yards an attempt.
He was on the field for 97 percent of the snaps in the games he played.
In 2025 Bryce Young played 16 games and scored 229.0 PPR points, 14.3 a game, finishing QB19.
He threw for 3011 yards on 478 attempts with 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and ran for 216 yards and 2 touchdowns.
That came to 29.9 attempts a game at 6.3 yards an attempt.
He was on the field for 96 percent of the snaps in the games he played.
Bryce Young was available for 2 games more.
Head to head
In 2025 Patrick Mahomes scored 21.2 PPR points a game and Bryce Young 14.3, 6.9 a game between them.
Patrick Mahomes finished QB11 that year and Bryce Young QB19.
Patrick Mahomes had 24 more pass attempts than Bryce Young, 502 to 478.
Patrick Mahomes had 576 more passing yards than Bryce Young, 3587 to 3011.
This season Patrick Mahomes holds the bigger snap share, 100 percent against 95 percent.
Their target share this season is the same, 0 percent each.
Byes and availability
Both are off in Week 5, so a roster holding the pair has that one week to cover twice.
Drop or keep
Should I drop Bryce Young for Patrick Mahomes?
Not on these numbers alone. Bryce Young projects 152 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (16.9 a game over 9 games) and Patrick Mahomes 154 (17.1 a game over 9 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 9 the call starts Patrick Mahomes over Bryce Young.
Should I drop Patrick Mahomes for Bryce Young?
Not on these numbers alone. Patrick Mahomes projects 154 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (17.1 a game over 9 games) and Bryce Young 152 (16.9 a game over 9 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 9 the call starts Patrick Mahomes over Bryce Young.
Both players in full
Week 9 on the board
- Is Patrick Mahomes playing Week 9?
- Is Bryce Young playing Week 9?
- Chiefs depth chart
- Panthers depth chart
- Week 9 QB rankings
- Week 9 fantasy rankings
- Week 9 start or sit
- Week 9 waiver wire
- Week 9 trade value chart
- Trade deadline buy low, sell high
- Fantasy football rankings
- Start 'em sit 'em Week 9
- Waiver wire pickups
- Fantasy sleepers
- Rest of season rankings
- Week 9 kicker rankings
- Week 9 defense rankings
