Start Baker Mayfield or Jayden Daniels? Week 8

Updated Oct 28, 2:31 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 Jayden Daniels over Baker Mayfield

Start

Jayden Daniels

QB · WAS · vs PHI

Market projects: 18.5; recent weeks avg
PHI D vs QB: 20.0; 9th most to QBs (2026)
Upside: High; 100 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 88%; Through Week 6

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 Jayden Daniels?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Jayden Daniels projects 180 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.0 a game over 10 games), Baker Mayfield 144 (16.0 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Jayden Daniels over Baker Mayfield.

Parlae may earn a commission from price links.

Jayden Daniels rookie cards

Make this call for your own roster

Sync your league and My Team sets this week's lineup for your actual roster, spot by spot. Free, no account.

Sync my league

Sleeper ESPN Yahoo

Or get it by email

Tuesday 7am ET: one email with what moved on the board and who is worth a claim.

Free. One a week, one tap to stop.

Our Week 8 call

Start Jayden Daniels over Baker Mayfield in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Jayden Daniels at 18.5 points and Baker Mayfield at 16.4, a gap of 2.1. 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 Jayden Daniels this week yet, so his 18.5 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5 and 6 (17.8 and 19.2); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. Drafters take Jayden Daniels at ADP 74 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 (3, 3 and 6 market sources).

No Week 8 player market is posted for Jayden Daniels yet. His market-based projections were 17.8 and 19.2 points in Weeks 5 and 6, an average of 18.5, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for Jayden Daniels is 0.4 touchdowns (3 market sources).

That puts Jayden Daniels 2.1 points ahead of Baker Mayfield on these 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.

Jayden Daniels and WAS host PHI on Sunday at 8:20 PM ET.

PHI allowed 20.0 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 9th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 248 yards and 1.6 touchdowns a game against PHI, with 0.4 interceptions a game.

By points allowed to the position, Jayden Daniels has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Baker Mayfield is not on the injury report.

Jayden Daniels 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 6, Jayden Daniels played 88 percent of WAS snaps, dropped back 143 times and threw an average of 8.5 air yards per attempt.

Jayden Daniels, Week 1 against PHI: 70 of 70 snaps, 18 of 34 passes for 164 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 5 carries for 31 yards.

Jayden Daniels, Week 2 against DAL: 39 of 71 snaps, 11 of 17 passes for 96 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 7 carries for 69 yards.

Jayden Daniels, Week 5 against NYG: 62 of 62 snaps, 17 of 25 passes for 199 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 8 carries for 104 yards.

Jayden Daniels, Week 6 against SF: 67 of 67 snaps, 29 of 38 passes for 300 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 3 carries for 11 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, Jayden Daniels played 7 games for WAS and scored 117.3 PPR points, 16.8 a game, finishing QB34.

He completed 114 of 188 passes for 1262 yards, 8 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, and ran 58 times for 278 yards and 2 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 91 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 Jayden Daniels?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Jayden Daniels projects 180 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.0 a game over 10 games), Baker Mayfield 144 (16.0 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Jayden Daniels over Baker Mayfield.
Should I drop Jayden Daniels for Baker Mayfield?
No. Keep Jayden Daniels: he projects 180 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.0 a game over 10 games), Baker Mayfield 144 (16.0 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Jayden Daniels over Baker Mayfield.