Should I start Patrick Mahomes or Kirk Cousins in Week 7?

The market-based projections

Patrick Mahomes's market-based projection is 15.9 PPR points a game, built from 5 markets across 14 market sources. That is the 32nd highest figure of the 222 players with a market-based projection.

Kirk Cousins's market-based projection is 15.0 PPR points a game, built from 5 markets across 14 market sources. That is the 47th highest figure of the 222 players with a market-based projection.

Where the draft room stands

Live drafts hold no current pick on Patrick Mahomes, and the board ranks him 100th overall on the rest of his evidence.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Kirk Cousins, and the board ranks him 118th overall on the rest of his evidence.

This season through Week 6

Through Week 6, Patrick Mahomes has been on the field for 100 percent of KC snaps, dropped back 174 times and thrown 6.3 air yards an attempt.

He has been sacked or hit on 24 of 174 dropbacks and scrambled 10 times.

In Week 3 against MIA he completed 20 of 24 passes for 246 yards, threw 2 touchdowns and 1 interception and ran 1 time for 1 yards.

In Week 4 against LV he completed 15 of 30 passes for 225 yards, threw 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 1 time for 1 yards.

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.

Through Week 6, Kirk Cousins has been on the field for 98 percent of LV snaps, dropped back 221 times and thrown 8.4 air yards an attempt.

He has been sacked or hit on 40 of 221 dropbacks and scrambled 3 times.

In Week 4 against KC he completed 31 of 49 passes for 365 yards and threw 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

In Week 5 against NE he completed 19 of 28 passes for 243 yards and threw 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions.

In Week 6 against BUF he completed 23 of 41 passes for 313 yards and threw 2 touchdowns 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 Kirk Cousins played 10 games and scored 108.5 PPR points, 10.9 a game, finishing QB35.

He threw for 1721 yards on 269 attempts with 10 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, and ran for 7 yards and 1 touchdown.

That came to 26.9 attempts a game at 6.4 yards an attempt.

He was on the field for 46 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

Patrick Mahomes was available for 4 games more.

Head to head

In 2025 Patrick Mahomes scored 21.2 PPR points a game and Kirk Cousins 10.9, 10.3 a game between them.

Patrick Mahomes finished QB11 that year and Kirk Cousins QB35.

Patrick Mahomes had 233 more pass attempts than Kirk Cousins, 502 to 269.

Patrick Mahomes had 1866 more passing yards than Kirk Cousins, 3587 to 1721.

This season Patrick Mahomes holds the bigger snap share, 100 percent against 98 percent.

Their target share this season is the same, 0 percent each.

Byes and availability

Patrick Mahomes is off in Week 5 and Kirk Cousins in Week 13, so either can cover the other's bye.

What would change the answer

0.9 points a game is the entire case. The market restates it every week, and a line that moves moves the order with it.

The draft market is the half that is missing: when live drafts hold these two again they can order them differently from the projection, and this page will follow the drafts rather than the market-based projection when they do.