Should I start Fernando Mendoza or Tua Tagovailoa in Week 9?
Updated Nov 3, 6:26 AM ET. Week 10 answers post Tuesday.
Start Fernando Mendoza: 17 percent of the snaps and 0 percent of the targets over their last game, against Tua Tagovailoa's 5 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.
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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.
QB · LV · bye 13
- Overall rank
- 264
QB · ATL · bye 11
2025 vs pass yds line 5-9
- Overall rank
- 276
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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 Fernando Mendoza, and the board ranks him 264th overall on the rest of his evidence.
Live drafts hold no current pick on Tua Tagovailoa, and the board ranks him 276th overall on the rest of his evidence.
The market-based projections
No season market is posted for Fernando Mendoza, so the only market valuing him on this page is the draft room.
No season market is posted for Tua Tagovailoa, so the only market valuing him on this page is the draft room.
Neither carries a posted market, so this page rests on the draft room and on what the two have already done.
This season through Week 5
Through Week 5, Fernando Mendoza has been on the field for 17 percent of LV snaps, dropped back 9 times and thrown 5.9 air yards an attempt.
He has been sacked or hit on 1 of 9 dropbacks and scrambled 1 time.
In Week 5 against NE he completed 6 of 8 passes for 48 yards, threw 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 1 time for 3 yards.
Through Week 5, Tua Tagovailoa has been on the field for 5 percent of ATL snaps, dropped back 3 times and thrown 9.7 air yards an attempt.
He has been sacked or hit on 0 of 3 dropbacks.
In Week 5 against BAL he completed 2 of 3 passes for 34 yards and threw 0 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Their 2025 seasons
Fernando Mendoza is a rookie, so there is no NFL season behind him to price him against.
In 2025 Tua Tagovailoa played 14 games and scored 175.7 PPR points, 12.5 a game, finishing QB25.
He threw for 2660 yards on 384 attempts with 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, and ran for 43 yards and 0 touchdowns.
That came to 27.4 attempts a game at 6.9 yards an attempt.
He was on the field for 96 percent of the snaps in the games he played.
Head to head
This season Fernando Mendoza holds the bigger snap share, 17 percent against 5 percent.
Their target share this season is the same, 0 percent each.
Byes and availability
Fernando Mendoza is off in Week 13 and Tua Tagovailoa in Week 11, so either can cover the other's bye.
Both players in full
Week 9 on the board
- Is Fernando Mendoza playing Week 9?
- Is Tua Tagovailoa playing Week 9?
- Raiders depth chart
- Falcons 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
