Start Drake Maye or Baker Mayfield? Week 8

Updated Oct 28, 2:42 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 Drake Maye over Baker Mayfield

Start

Drake Maye

QB · NE · at MIA

Market projects: 18.4; fantasy pts
MIA D vs QB: 20.3; 7th most to QBs (2026)
Upside: High; 88 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 97%; Through Week 7

Sit

Baker Mayfield

QB · TB · vs ATL

Market projects: 16.4; 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 Drake Maye?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Drake Maye projects 167 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.6 a game over 9 games), Baker Mayfield 144 (16.0 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Drake Maye over Baker Mayfield, 18.4 to 16.4 projected PPR points.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Drake Maye over Baker Mayfield in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Drake Maye at 18.4 points and Baker Mayfield at 16.4, a gap of 2.0. 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. Drafters take Drake Maye at ADP 50 and Baker Mayfield at 133.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 16.4 fantasy points for Baker Mayfield, with 80 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Baker Mayfield is 218 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns and 0.2 rushing touchdowns (5, 6 and 7 market sources).

Player markets imply 18.4 fantasy points for Drake Maye, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Drake Maye is 233 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns, 25 rushing yards and 0.3 rushing touchdowns (6, 7, 6 and 9 market sources).

That puts Drake Maye 2.0 points ahead of Baker Mayfield on the market projections.

Week 8 matchups

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.

Drake Maye and NE visit MIA on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

MIA allowed 20.3 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 6 games, the 7th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 236 yards and 2.3 touchdowns a game against MIA, with 0.7 interceptions a game.

By points allowed to the position, Drake Maye has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Baker Mayfield is not on the injury report.

Drake Maye is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

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.

Through Week 7, Drake Maye played 97 percent of NE snaps, dropped back 249 times and threw an average of 9.1 air yards per attempt.

Drake Maye, Week 4 against BUF: 76 of 76 snaps, 22 of 37 passes for 269 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, 6 carries for 56 yards.

Drake Maye, Week 5 against LV: 75 of 75 snaps, 26 of 34 passes for 374 yards, 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 4 carries for 29 yards.

Drake Maye, Week 6 against NYJ: 68 of 68 snaps, 18 of 32 passes for 235 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 3 carries for 25 yards.

Drake Maye, Week 7 against CHI: 54 of 54 snaps, 24 of 30 passes for 321 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, 4 carries for 26 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

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.

In 2025, Drake Maye played 17 games for NE and scored 360.0 PPR points, 21.2 a game, finishing QB2.

He completed 354 of 492 passes for 4394 yards, 31 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, and ran 103 times for 450 yards and 4 touchdowns.

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 Drake Maye?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Drake Maye projects 167 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.6 a game over 9 games), Baker Mayfield 144 (16.0 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Drake Maye over Baker Mayfield, 18.4 to 16.4 projected PPR points.
Should I drop Drake Maye for Baker Mayfield?
No. Keep Drake Maye: he projects 167 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.6 a game over 9 games), Baker Mayfield 144 (16.0 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Drake Maye over Baker Mayfield, 18.4 to 16.4 projected PPR points.