Should I start Michael Penix Jr. or Bucky Irving in Week 7?

Updated Oct 20, 6:16 AM ET. Week 8 answers post Tuesday.

Start Michael Penix Jr.: 98 percent of the snaps and 0 percent of the targets over their last 3 games, against Bucky Irving's 55 percent of the snaps and 58 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 Bucky Irving for Michael Penix Jr.?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Michael Penix Jr. projects 136 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (13.6 a game over 10 games), Bucky Irving 120 (12.0 a game over 10 games). Michael Penix Jr. is listed questionable.

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Your next move

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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.

Michael Penix Jr.

QB12 · ATL · bye 11

2026 vs pass yds line 2-2

Market-based projection: 15.3 pts a game Wk 6 price
Overall rank: 87

Bucky Irving

RB30 · TB · bye 10

2026 vs carries line 5-1

Market-based projection: 11.9 pts a game Wk 6 price
Overall rank: 88

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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 Michael Penix Jr., and the board ranks him 87th overall on the rest of his evidence.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Bucky Irving, and the board ranks him 88th overall on the rest of his evidence.

The market-based projections

No season market is posted for Michael Penix Jr., so the only market valuing him on this page is the draft room.

The market-based projection for Bucky Irving is 4.1 PPR points a game off 1 market across 6 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.

This season through Week 6

Through Week 6, Michael Penix Jr. has been on the field for 98 percent of ATL snaps, dropped back 122 times and thrown 7.4 air yards an attempt.

He has been sacked or hit on 15 of 122 dropbacks and scrambled 3 times.

In Week 4 against NO he completed 15 of 20 passes for 223 yards and threw 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions.

In Week 5 against BAL he completed 19 of 32 passes for 240 yards, threw 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions and ran 2 times for 8 yards.

In Week 6 against CHI he completed 19 of 33 passes for 225 yards, threw 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 1 time for 1 yards.

Through Week 6, Bucky Irving has been on the field for 61 percent of TB snaps, taken 61 percent of the carries, drawn 11 percent of the targets and had 38 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 4 of the offence's 53 third down targets, had 2 of its 7 chances inside the five and seen 1 of its 41 two minute targets.

His 21 targets have come 2.0 yards behind the line of scrimmage on average.

In Week 4 against GB he carried 16 times for 61 yards and did not score.

In Week 5 against DAL he carried 21 times for 165 yards, caught 2 of 3 targets for 10 yards and scored 2 touchdowns.

In Week 6 against PIT he carried 19 times for 46 yards, caught 2 of 3 targets for 3 yards and did not score.

Their 2025 seasons

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.

In 2025 Bucky Irving played 10 games and scored 138.5 PPR points, 13.9 a game, finishing RB34.

He carried 173 times for 588 yards and 1 touchdown, and caught 30 of 35 targets for 277 more yards.

That came to 17.3 carries a game at 3.4 yards a carry and 3.0 catches a game.

He was on the field for 62 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

Bucky Irving was available for 1 game more.

Side by side

In 2025 Bucky Irving scored 13.9 PPR points a game and Michael Penix Jr. 13.7, 0.2 a game between them.

Michael Penix Jr. finished QB33 and Bucky Irving RB34, which are two different ladders.

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

Byes and availability

Michael Penix Jr. is off in Week 11 and Bucky Irving in Week 10, so either can cover the other's bye.

Michael Penix Jr. is listed as questionable on the injury report.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Bucky Irving for Michael Penix Jr.?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Michael Penix Jr. projects 136 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (13.6 a game over 10 games), Bucky Irving 120 (12.0 a game over 10 games). Michael Penix Jr. is listed questionable.
Should I drop Michael Penix Jr. for Bucky Irving?
No. Keep Michael Penix Jr.: he projects 136 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (13.6 a game over 10 games), Bucky Irving 120 (12.0 a game over 10 games). Michael Penix Jr. is listed questionable.