Should I start Puka Nacua or Michael Penix Jr. in Week 9?

Where the draft room stands

Live drafts hold no current pick on Puka Nacua, and the board ranks him 104th overall on the rest of his evidence.

In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 6.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Michael Penix Jr., and the board ranks him 106th overall on the rest of his evidence.

The market-based projections

The market-based projection for Puka Nacua is 3.9 PPR points a game off 1 market across 8 market sources. That is 30 percent of what a wide receiver's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

The market has Michael Penix Jr. at 16.1 PPR points a game off 4 markets across 14 market sources. That is 80 percent of what a quarterback's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

Puka Nacua's projection is not complete, so the two figures are not set against each other here.

This season through Week 8

Through Week 8, Puka Nacua has been on the field for 86 percent of LAR snaps, drawn 34 percent of the targets and had 22 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 20 of the offence's 48 third down targets, had 3 of its 18 chances inside the five and seen 8 of its 26 two minute targets.

His 74 targets have averaged 7.7 air yards.

In Week 6 against ARI he caught 6 of 7 targets for 80 yards and did not score.

In Week 7 against LV he carried 2 times for 10 yards, caught 8 of 10 targets for 68 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 8 against LAC he caught 11 of 12 targets for 80 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

Through Week 8, Michael Penix Jr. has been on the field for 99 percent of ATL snaps, dropped back 59 times and thrown 7.2 air yards an attempt.

He has been sacked or hit on 0 of 59 dropbacks and scrambled 2 times.

In Week 7 against SF he completed 25 of 33 passes for 213 yards, threw 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 2 times for 2 yards.

In Week 8 against TB he completed 8 of 24 passes for 125 yards, threw 0 touchdowns and 4 interceptions and ran 5 times for 11 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 Puka Nacua played 16 games and scored 375.0 PPR points, 23.4 a game, finishing WR1.

He caught 129 of 166 targets for 1715 yards and 10 touchdowns, with 16 red zone targets.

That came to 10.4 targets a game, a 78 percent catch rate and 13.3 yards a catch.

He was on the field for 68 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

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.

Puka Nacua was available for 7 games more.

Side by side

In 2025 Puka Nacua scored 23.4 PPR points a game and Michael Penix Jr. 13.7, 9.7 a game between them.

Puka Nacua finished WR1 and Michael Penix Jr. QB33, which are two different ladders.

Puka Nacua is a wide receiver and Michael Penix Jr. a quarterback, so the question is which slot you fill first rather than which of them is better.

Byes and availability

Both are off in Week 11, so a roster holding the pair has that one week to cover twice.