C.J. Stroud or Carnell Tate: who should I start in Week 3?

What the sportsbooks price

The player markets price C.J. Stroud at 16.1 PPR points a game, built from 5 markets across 17 books. That is the 31st highest figure of the 176 players the books price.

The player markets price Carnell Tate at 8.7 PPR points a game, built from 3 markets across 15 books. That is the 109th highest figure of the 176 players the books price.

Where the draft room stands

Drafters have formed no consensus on C.J. Stroud: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 108th overall on the rest of his evidence.

In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 75.

Drafters have formed no consensus on Carnell Tate: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 107th overall on the rest of his evidence.

In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 94.

This season through Week 2

Through Week 2, C.J. Stroud has been on the field for 100 percent of HOU snaps, dropped back 102 times and thrown 8.8 air yards an attempt.

He has been sacked or hit on 16 of 102 dropbacks and scrambled 4 times.

In Week 1 against BUF he completed 26 of 38 passes for 274 yards, threw 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 2 times for 15 yards.

In Week 2 against CIN he completed 30 of 53 passes for 353 yards, threw 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 3 times for 29 yards.

Through Week 2, Carnell Tate has been on the field for 82 percent of TEN snaps, drawn 24 percent of the targets and had 0 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 4 of the offence's 13 third down targets, had 0 of its 5 chances inside the five and seen 2 of its 6 two minute targets.

His 11 targets have averaged 10.6 air yards.

In Week 1 against NYJ he caught 4 of 6 targets for 38 yards and did not score.

In Week 2 against PHI he caught 3 of 5 targets for 27 yards and did not score.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 C.J. Stroud played 14 games and scored 216.5 PPR points, 15.5 a game, finishing QB21.

He threw for 3041 yards on 423 attempts with 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, and ran for 209 yards and 1 touchdown.

That came to 30.2 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.

Carnell Tate is a rookie, so there is no NFL season behind him to price him against.

Side by side

C.J. Stroud is a quarterback and Carnell Tate a wide receiver, so the question is which slot you fill first rather than which of them is better.

Byes and availability

C.J. Stroud is off in Week 8 and Carnell Tate in Week 9, so either can cover the other's bye.

What would change the answer

7.4 points a game is the entire case. The books restate it every week, and a line that moves moves the order with it.

The draft market is the half that is missing: when the consensus sample holds these two again it can order them differently from the price, and this page will follow the sample rather than the books when it does.