Start Jared Goff or Baker Mayfield? 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 Jared Goff over Baker Mayfield

Start

Jared Goff

QB · DET · vs MIN

Market projects: 18.4; fantasy pts
MIN D vs QB: 8.8; fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 22 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 99%; 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 Jared Goff?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Jared Goff projects 167 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.7 a game over 10 games), Baker Mayfield 144 (16.0 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Jared Goff over Baker Mayfield, 18.4 to 16.4 projected PPR points.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Jared Goff over Baker Mayfield in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Jared Goff at 18.4 points and Baker Mayfield at 16.4, a gap of 2.0. Both numbers are 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 Jared Goff at ADP 106 and Baker Mayfield at 133.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 18.4 fantasy points for Jared Goff, with 80 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Jared Goff is 264 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns and 0.1 rushing touchdowns (12, 14 and 13 market sources).

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).

That puts Jared Goff 2.0 points ahead of Baker Mayfield on the market projections.

Week 8 matchups

Jared Goff and DET host MIN on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

MIN allowed 8.8 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 6 games, the fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 181 yards and 0-1 touchdowns a game against MIN, with 1.2 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, Baker Mayfield has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Jared Goff is not on the injury report.

Baker Mayfield is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Jared Goff played 99 percent of DET snaps, dropped back 240 times and threw an average of 7.9 air yards per attempt.

Jared Goff, Week 3 against NYJ: 65 of 65 snaps, 25 of 32 passes for 269 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 8 yards.

Jared Goff, Week 4 against CAR: 71 of 71 snaps, 32 of 52 passes for 412 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions.

Jared Goff, Week 5 against ARI: 63 of 66 snaps, 19 of 30 passes for 271 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 1 yards.

Jared Goff, Week 7 against GB: 68 of 68 snaps, 22 of 32 passes for 303 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 0 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, Jared Goff played 17 games for DET and scored 305.1 PPR points, 17.9 a game, finishing QB9.

He completed 393 of 578 passes for 4564 yards, 34 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, and ran 19 times for 45 yards and 0 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 Jared Goff?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Jared Goff projects 167 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.7 a game over 10 games), Baker Mayfield 144 (16.0 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Jared Goff over Baker Mayfield, 18.4 to 16.4 projected PPR points.
Should I drop Jared Goff for Baker Mayfield?
No. Keep Jared Goff: he projects 167 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.7 a game over 10 games), Baker Mayfield 144 (16.0 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Jared Goff over Baker Mayfield, 18.4 to 16.4 projected PPR points.