Start Baker Mayfield or Dak Prescott? Week 8

Updated Oct 28, 1:37 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Latest

Oct 22, 4:48 PM ET: Barring setbacks, Bucs QB Baker Mayfield expected to start vs. Panthers (ESPN)

Start Dak Prescott over Baker Mayfield

Start

Dak Prescott

QB · DAL · vs ARI

Market projects: 18.0; recent weeks avg
ARI D vs QB: 22.7; 3rd most to QBs (2026)
Upside: High; 91 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 100%; Through Week 7

Sit

Baker Mayfield

QB · TB · vs ATL

Market projects: 16.6; fantasy pts
ATL D vs QB: 18.0; 13th most to QBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 28 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 96%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Baker Mayfield for Dak Prescott?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Dak Prescott projects 161 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (17.9 a game over 9 games), Baker Mayfield 144 (16.0 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Dak Prescott over Baker Mayfield.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Dak Prescott over Baker Mayfield in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Dak Prescott at 18.0 points and Baker Mayfield at 16.6, a gap of 1.4. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Baker Mayfield's number is scaled up from a partial market: not every stat the position needs is posted yet, so the rest is estimated from what is. No player market is posted for Dak Prescott this week yet, so his 18.0 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (18.3, 18.3 and 17.4); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. Drafters take Dak Prescott at ADP 64 and Baker Mayfield at 133.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Dak Prescott yet. His market-based projections were 18.3, 18.3 and 17.4 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 18.0, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

Player markets imply 16.6 fantasy points for Baker Mayfield, with 80 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Baker Mayfield is 0.2 touchdowns (6 market sources).

That puts Dak Prescott 1.4 points ahead of Baker Mayfield on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Dak Prescott and DAL host ARI on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

ARI allowed 22.7 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 3rd most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 244 yards and 2.4 touchdowns a game against ARI, with 0.4 interceptions a game.

Baker Mayfield and TB host ATL on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

ATL allowed 18.0 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 13th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 271 yards and 1.6 touchdowns a game against ATL, with 0.4 interceptions a game.

By points allowed to the position, Dak Prescott has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Dak Prescott is not on the injury report.

Baker Mayfield is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Dak Prescott played 100 percent of DAL snaps, dropped back 293 times and threw an average of 7.9 air yards per attempt.

Dak Prescott, Week 4 against HOU: 78 of 78 snaps, 32 of 45 passes for 335 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 7 yards.

Dak Prescott, Week 5 against TB: 60 of 60 snaps, 24 of 42 passes for 316 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.

Dak Prescott, Week 6 against GB: 78 of 78 snaps, 34 of 54 passes for 258 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, 2 carries for 7 yards.

Dak Prescott, Week 7 against PHI: 68 of 68 snaps, 15 of 27 passes for 212 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 8 yards.

Through Week 7, Baker Mayfield played 96 percent of TB snaps, dropped back 129 times and threw an average of 8.2 air yards per attempt.

Baker Mayfield, Week 1 against CIN: 57 of 57 snaps, 23 of 28 passes for 216 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 4 carries for 31 yards.

Baker Mayfield, Week 2 against CLE: 65 of 65 snaps, 21 of 34 passes for 182 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 4 carries for 29 yards.

Baker Mayfield, Week 3 against MIN: 65 of 69 snaps, 17 of 34 passes for 217 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 2 carries for 6 yards.

Baker Mayfield, Week 7 against CAR: 57 of 63 snaps, 7 of 11 passes for 64 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 1 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Dak Prescott played 17 games for DAL and scored 323.8 PPR points, 19.0 a game, finishing QB6.

He completed 404 of 600 passes for 4552 yards, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and ran 53 times for 177 yards and 2 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 98 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Baker Mayfield played 17 games for TB and scored 282.9 PPR points, 16.6 a game, finishing QB12.

He completed 343 of 543 passes for 3693 yards, 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and ran 55 times for 382 yards and 1 touchdown.

He was on the field for 97 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 Baker Mayfield for Dak Prescott?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Dak Prescott projects 161 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (17.9 a game over 9 games), Baker Mayfield 144 (16.0 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Dak Prescott over Baker Mayfield.
Should I drop Dak Prescott for Baker Mayfield?
No. Keep Dak Prescott: he projects 161 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (17.9 a game over 9 games), Baker Mayfield 144 (16.0 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Dak Prescott over Baker Mayfield.