Should I start Joe Burrow or Lamar Jackson in Week 8?
Updated Oct 28, 2:42 AM ET. Week 9 answers post Tuesday.
Latest
- : Lamar Jackson: Questionable to Out (Ankle, Sprain) (Sleeper injury feed)
- : Ravens' Lamar Jackson returns to practice but status remains unclear vs. Bengals (ESPN)
Week 8 verdict
Start Joe Burrow over Lamar Jackson
- Market projects
- 22.7
- fantasy pts
- TEN D vs QB
- 16.1
- 11th fewest to QBs (2026)
- Snap share
- 99%
- Through Week 7
- Market projects
- 19.1
- fantasy pts
- BUF D vs QB
- 22.3
- 4th most to QBs (2026)
- Snap share
- 88%
- Through Week 4
Start Joe Burrow: 98 percent of the snaps and 0 percent of the targets over their last 3 games, against Lamar Jackson's 83 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 Lamar Jackson for Joe Burrow?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Joe Burrow projects 171 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (17.1 a game over 10 games), Lamar Jackson 139 (15.4 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Joe Burrow over Lamar Jackson, 22.7 to 19.1 projected PPR points. Lamar Jackson is listed out.
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More fantasy football tools and rankings, all built from the same board.
Both players' season market-based projection, their usage this season and their last full season's numbers.
QB2 · CIN · bye 6
2026 vs pass yds line 3-3
- Overall rank
- 38
QB3 · BAL · bye 13
2026 vs pass yds line 3-1
- Market-based projection
- 19.1 pts a game
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The gap
- Board size295 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 Joe Burrow, and the board ranks him 38th overall on the rest of his evidence.
Live drafts hold no current pick on Lamar Jackson, and the board ranks him 54th overall on the rest of his evidence.
In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 3.
The market-based projections
The market-based projection for Joe Burrow is 22.7 PPR points a game off 4 markets across 10 market sources. That is 80 percent of what a quarterback's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.
Lamar Jackson's market-based projection is 19.1 PPR points a game, built from 5 markets across 9 market sources. That is the 5th highest figure of the 200 players with a market-based projection.
Joe Burrow's projection is not complete, so the two figures are not set against each other here.
This season so far
Through Week 7, Joe Burrow has been on the field for 99 percent of CIN snaps, dropped back 236 times and thrown 7.2 air yards an attempt.
He has been sacked or hit on 42 of 236 dropbacks and scrambled 7 times.
In Week 4 against JAX he completed 39 of 54 passes for 428 yards, threw 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions and ran 3 times for 6 yards.
In Week 5 against MIA he completed 23 of 32 passes for 190 yards, threw 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 2 times for 12 yards.
In Week 7 against BAL he completed 22 of 30 passes for 292 yards, threw 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 2 times for 12 yards.
Through Week 4, Lamar Jackson has been on the field for 88 percent of BAL snaps, dropped back 111 times and thrown 10.4 air yards an attempt.
He has been sacked or hit on 13 of 111 dropbacks and scrambled 10 times.
In Week 2 against NO he completed 21 of 30 passes for 235 yards, threw 1 touchdown and 1 interception and ran 4 times for 34 yards.
In Week 3 against DAL he completed 15 of 20 passes for 186 yards, threw 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 6 times for 50 yards.
In Week 4 against TEN he completed 15 of 20 passes for 222 yards, threw 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 2 times for 20 yards.
Their 2025 seasons
In 2025 Joe Burrow played 8 games and scored 139.5 PPR points, 17.4 a game, finishing QB29.
He threw for 1809 yards on 259 attempts with 17 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, and ran for 41 yards and 0 touchdowns.
That came to 32.4 attempts a game at 7.0 yards an attempt.
He was on the field for 86 percent of the snaps in the games he played.
In 2025 Lamar Jackson played 13 games and scored 221.9 PPR points, 17.1 a game, finishing QB20.
He threw for 2549 yards on 302 attempts with 21 touchdowns and 7 interceptions, and ran for 349 yards and 2 touchdowns.
That came to 23.2 attempts a game at 8.4 yards an attempt.
He was on the field for 92 percent of the snaps in the games he played.
Lamar Jackson was available for 5 games more.
Head to head
In 2025 Joe Burrow scored 17.4 PPR points a game and Lamar Jackson 17.1, 0.4 a game between them.
Joe Burrow finished QB29 that year and Lamar Jackson QB20.
Lamar Jackson had 43 more pass attempts than Joe Burrow, 302 to 259.
Lamar Jackson had 740 more passing yards than Joe Burrow, 2549 to 1809.
This season Joe Burrow holds the bigger snap share, 99 percent against 88 percent.
Their target share this season is the same, 0 percent each.
Byes and availability
Joe Burrow is off in Week 6 and Lamar Jackson in Week 13, so either can cover the other's bye.
Lamar Jackson is listed as out on the injury report.
What would change the answer
Joe Burrow has only a partial projection, so the market half of this page is whole for only one of them.
Drop or keep
Should I drop Lamar Jackson for Joe Burrow?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Joe Burrow projects 171 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (17.1 a game over 10 games), Lamar Jackson 139 (15.4 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Joe Burrow over Lamar Jackson, 22.7 to 19.1 projected PPR points. Lamar Jackson is listed out.
Should I drop Joe Burrow for Lamar Jackson?
No. Keep Joe Burrow: he projects 171 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (17.1 a game over 10 games), Lamar Jackson 139 (15.4 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Joe Burrow over Lamar Jackson, 22.7 to 19.1 projected PPR points. Lamar Jackson is listed out.
Both players in full
Week 8 on the board
- Is Joe Burrow playing Week 8?
- Is Lamar Jackson playing Week 8?
- Bengals depth chart
- Ravens depth chart
- Week 8 QB rankings
- Week 8 fantasy rankings
- Week 8 start or sit
- Week 8 waiver wire
- Week 8 trade value chart
- Trade deadline buy low, sell high
- Fantasy football rankings
- Start 'em sit 'em Week 8
- Waiver wire pickups
- Fantasy sleepers
- Rest of season rankings
- Week 8 kicker rankings
- Week 8 defense rankings
