Should I start Zachariah Branch or Patrick Mahomes in Week 7?

Updated Oct 20, 4:06 PM ET. Week 8 answers post Tuesday.

Start Patrick Mahomes: 100 percent of the snaps and 0 percent of the targets over their last 3 games, against Zachariah Branch's 25 percent of the snaps and 7 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 Zachariah Branch for Patrick Mahomes?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Patrick Mahomes projects 191 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (17.4 a game over 11 games), Zachariah Branch 19 (1.9 a game over 10 games).

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Your next move

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Both players' season market-based projection, their usage this season and their last full season's numbers.

Zachariah Branch

WR35 · ATL · bye 11

2026 vs anytime td line 0-6

Market-based projection: 3.3 pts a game Wk 6 price
Overall rank: 86

Patrick Mahomes

QB12 · KC · bye 5

2026 vs pass yds line 3-2

Market-based projection: 16.4 pts a game

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The gap

Board size299 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 Zachariah Branch, and the board ranks him 86th overall on the rest of his evidence.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Patrick Mahomes, and the board ranks him 87th overall on the rest of his evidence.

The market-based projections

No season market is posted for Zachariah Branch, so the only market valuing him on this page is the draft room.

Patrick Mahomes's market-based projection is 16.4 PPR points a game, built from 5 markets across 11 market sources. That is the 13th highest figure of the 184 players with a market-based projection.

This season through Week 6

Through Week 6, Zachariah Branch has been on the field for 24 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 47 third down targets, had 0 of its 13 chances inside the five and seen 1 of its 18 two minute targets.

His 10 targets have averaged 1.1 air yards.

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.

In Week 6 against CHI he caught 2 of 2 targets for 9 yards and did not score.

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.

Their 2025 seasons

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

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.

Side by side

Zachariah Branch is a wide receiver and Patrick Mahomes a quarterback, so the question is which slot you fill first rather than which of them is better.

Byes and availability

Zachariah Branch is off in Week 11 and Patrick Mahomes in Week 5, so either can cover the other's bye.

What would change the answer

Zachariah Branch has no posted market, so one half of the evidence on this page exists for only one of them.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Zachariah Branch for Patrick Mahomes?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Patrick Mahomes projects 191 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (17.4 a game over 11 games), Zachariah Branch 19 (1.9 a game over 10 games).
Should I drop Patrick Mahomes for Zachariah Branch?
No. Keep Patrick Mahomes: he projects 191 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (17.4 a game over 11 games), Zachariah Branch 19 (1.9 a game over 10 games).