Michael Penix Jr. or Zachariah Branch: who should I start in Week 6?

Where the draft room stands

Drafters have formed no consensus on Michael Penix Jr.: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 80th overall on the rest of his evidence.

Drafters have formed no consensus on Zachariah Branch: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 101st overall on the rest of his evidence.

What the player markets price

The market has Michael Penix Jr. at 17.2 PPR points a game off 3 markets across 11 market sources. That is 70 percent of what a quarterback's price needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

The player markets price Zachariah Branch at 3.2 PPR points a game, built from 3 markets across 12 market sources. That is the 103rd highest figure of the 139 players the market prices.

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

This season through Week 5

Through Week 5, Michael Penix Jr. has been on the field for 98 percent of ATL snaps, dropped back 83 times and thrown 6.4 air yards an attempt.

He has been sacked or hit on 8 of 83 dropbacks and scrambled 2 times.

In Week 3 against GB he completed 18 of 25 passes for 256 yards and threw 1 touchdown and 1 interception.

In Week 4 against NO he completed 15 of 20 passes for 223 yards and threw 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions.

In Week 5 against BAL he completed 19 of 32 passes for 240 yards, threw 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions and ran 2 times for 8 yards.

Through Week 5, Zachariah Branch has been on the field for 22 percent of ATL snaps, drawn 6 percent of the targets and had 0 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 2 of the offence's 40 third down targets, had 0 of its 12 chances inside the five and seen 1 of its 16 two minute targets.

His 8 targets have averaged 0.3 air yards.

In Week 3 against GB he caught 1 of 2 targets for 7 yards and did not score.

In Week 4 against NO he caught 2 of 2 targets for 10 yards and did not score.

In Week 5 against BAL he caught 2 of 2 targets for 15 yards and did not score.

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.

Zachariah Branch is a rookie, so there is no NFL season behind him to price him against.

Side by side

Michael Penix Jr. is a quarterback and Zachariah Branch a wide receiver, 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. No bye is listed for Zachariah Branch.

Michael Penix Jr. is listed as questionable on the injury report.

What would change the answer

Michael Penix Jr. is only part priced, so the market half of this page is whole for only one of them.