Should I start Michael Penix Jr. or Rachaad White in Week 8?

Updated Oct 28, 1:21 PM ET. Week 9 answers post Tuesday.

Start Michael Penix Jr.: 99 percent of the snaps and 0 percent of the targets over their last 3 games, against Rachaad White's 57 percent of the snaps and 29 percent of the carries. 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 Rachaad White for Michael Penix Jr.?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Michael Penix Jr. projects 131 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (14.6 a game over 9 games), Rachaad White 38 (3.8 a game over 10 games).

Parlae may earn a commission from price links.

Your next move

More fantasy football tools and rankings, all built from the same board.

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.

Michael Penix Jr.

QB18 · ATL · bye 11

2026 vs pass yds line 2-3

Overall rank: 104

Rachaad White

RB35 · WAS · bye 7

2026 vs carries line 4-1

Overall rank: 105

Make this call for your own roster

Sync your league and My Team sets this week's lineup for your actual roster, spot by spot. Free, no account.

Sync my league

Sleeper ESPN Yahoo

Or get it by email

Tuesday 7am ET: one email with what moved on the board and who is worth a claim.

Free. One a week, one tap to stop.

The gap

Board size301 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 Michael Penix Jr., and the board ranks him 104th overall on the rest of his evidence.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Rachaad White, and the board ranks him 105th overall on the rest of his evidence.

The market-based projections

The market has Michael Penix Jr. at 15.8 PPR points a game off 4 markets across 11 market sources. That is 80 percent of what a quarterback's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

The market-based projection for Rachaad White is 3.8 PPR points a game off 1 market across 3 market sources. That is 30 percent of what a running back's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

Michael Penix Jr.'s projection is not complete, so the two figures are not set against each other here.

This season so far

Through Week 7, Michael Penix Jr. has been on the field for 99 percent of ATL snaps, dropped back 34 times and thrown 6.1 air yards an attempt.

He has been sacked or hit on 0 of 34 dropbacks and scrambled 1 time.

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.

Through Week 6, Rachaad White has been on the field for 53 percent of WAS snaps, taken 26 percent of the carries, drawn 10 percent of the targets and had 16 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 6 of the offence's 38 third down targets, had 1 of its 9 chances inside the five and seen 1 of its 18 two minute targets.

His 15 targets have averaged 0.7 air yards.

In Week 3 against SEA he carried 8 times for 35 yards, caught 1 of 1 target for 6 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 5 against NYG he carried 7 times for 18 yards, caught 1 of 1 target for 2 yards and did not score.

In Week 6 against SF he carried 7 times for 27 yards, caught 4 of 5 targets for 30 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

Their 2025 seasons

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.

In 2025 Rachaad White played 17 games and scored 143.0 PPR points, 8.4 a game, finishing RB32.

He carried 132 times for 572 yards and 4 touchdowns, and caught 40 of 45 targets for 218 more yards.

That came to 7.8 carries a game at 4.3 yards a carry and 2.4 catches a game.

He was on the field for 51 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

Rachaad White was available for 8 games more.

Side by side

In 2025 Michael Penix Jr. scored 13.7 PPR points a game and Rachaad White 8.4, 5.3 a game between them.

Michael Penix Jr. finished QB33 and Rachaad White RB32, which are two different ladders.

Michael Penix Jr. is a quarterback and Rachaad White a running back, so the question is which slot you fill first rather than which of them is better.

Byes and availability

Michael Penix Jr. is off in Week 11 and Rachaad White in Week 7, so either can cover the other's bye.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Rachaad White for Michael Penix Jr.?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Michael Penix Jr. projects 131 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (14.6 a game over 9 games), Rachaad White 38 (3.8 a game over 10 games).
Should I drop Michael Penix Jr. for Rachaad White?
No. Keep Michael Penix Jr.: he projects 131 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (14.6 a game over 9 games), Rachaad White 38 (3.8 a game over 10 games).