Should I drop Michael Penix Jr. for Aaron Rodgers?

Not on these numbers alone. Michael Penix Jr. projects 135 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (15.0 a game over 9 games) and Aaron Rodgers 131 (14.5 a game over 9 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 8 the call starts Aaron Rodgers over Michael Penix Jr.

Start Michael Penix Jr. or Aaron Rodgers? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 7:16 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Aaron Rodgers over Michael Penix Jr.

Start

Aaron Rodgers

QB · PIT · vs CLE

Market projects: 14.6; recent weeks avg
CLE D vs QB: 15.4; 8th fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 13 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 99%; Through Week 7

Sit

Michael Penix Jr.

QB · ATL · at TB

Market projects: 14.3; recent weeks avg
TB D vs QB: 14.7; 6th fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 19 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 99%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Aaron Rodgers for Michael Penix Jr.?

Not on these numbers alone. Aaron Rodgers projects 131 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (14.5 a game over 9 games) and Michael Penix Jr. 135 (15.0 a game over 9 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 8 the call starts Aaron Rodgers over Michael Penix Jr.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Aaron Rodgers over Michael Penix Jr. in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Aaron Rodgers at 14.6 points and Michael Penix Jr. at 14.3, a gap of 0.3. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Aaron Rodgers this week yet, so his 14.6 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (14.5, 14.3 and 14.8); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Michael Penix Jr. this week yet, so his 14.3 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (12.4, 15.3 and 15.3); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Aaron Rodgers yet. His market-based projections were 14.5, 14.4 and 14.8 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 14.6, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

No Week 8 player market is posted for Michael Penix Jr. yet. His market-based projections were 12.4, 15.3 and 15.3 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 14.3, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

That puts Aaron Rodgers 0.3 points ahead of Michael Penix Jr. on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Aaron Rodgers and PIT host CLE on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CLE allowed 15.4 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 8th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 221 yards and 1.6 touchdowns a game against CLE, with 0.7 interceptions a game.

Michael Penix Jr. and ATL visit TB on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

TB allowed 14.7 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 6th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 234 yards and 1.4 touchdowns a game against TB, with 1.1 interceptions a game.

By points allowed to the position, Aaron Rodgers has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Aaron Rodgers is not on the injury report.

Michael Penix Jr. is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Aaron Rodgers played 99 percent of PIT snaps, dropped back 286 times and threw an average of 7.5 air yards per attempt.

Aaron Rodgers, Week 4 against CLE: 72 of 72 snaps, 22 of 40 passes for 299 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

Aaron Rodgers, Week 5 against IND: 58 of 60 snaps, 22 of 31 passes for 235 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 6 yards.

Aaron Rodgers, Week 6 against TB: 79 of 79 snaps, 33 of 47 passes for 253 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

Aaron Rodgers, Week 7 against NO: 64 of 64 snaps, 19 of 30 passes for 212 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 8 yards.

Through Week 7, Michael Penix Jr. played 99 percent of ATL snaps, dropped back 34 times and threw an average of 6.1 air yards per attempt.

Michael Penix Jr., Week 7 against SF: 68 of 69 snaps, 25 of 33 passes for 213 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 2 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Aaron Rodgers played 16 games for PIT and scored 234.1 PPR points, 14.6 a game, finishing QB18.

He completed 327 of 498 passes for 3322 yards, 24 touchdowns and 7 interceptions, and ran 21 times for 61 yards and 1 touchdown.

He was on the field for 95 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Michael Penix Jr. played 9 games for ATL and scored 123.3 PPR points, 13.7 a game, finishing QB33.

He completed 166 of 276 passes for 1982 yards, 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, and ran 21 times for 70 yards and 1 touchdown.

He was on the field for 93 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 8 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 8, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Aaron Rodgers for Michael Penix Jr.?
Not on these numbers alone. Aaron Rodgers projects 131 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (14.5 a game over 9 games) and Michael Penix Jr. 135 (15.0 a game over 9 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 8 the call starts Aaron Rodgers over Michael Penix Jr.
Should I drop Michael Penix Jr. for Aaron Rodgers?
Not on these numbers alone. Michael Penix Jr. projects 135 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (15.0 a game over 9 games) and Aaron Rodgers 131 (14.5 a game over 9 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 8 the call starts Aaron Rodgers over Michael Penix Jr.

Should I drop Aaron Rodgers?