Start Baker Mayfield or Kirk Cousins? 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 Baker Mayfield over Kirk Cousins

Start

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

Sit

Kirk Cousins

QB · LV · at NYJ

Market projects: 16.5; fantasy pts
NYJ D vs QB: 16.7; 15th fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 78 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 98%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Kirk Cousins for Baker Mayfield?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Baker Mayfield projects 144 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.0 a game over 9 games), Kirk Cousins 128 (14.2 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Baker Mayfield over Kirk Cousins, 16.6 to 16.5 projected PPR points.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Baker Mayfield over Kirk Cousins in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Baker Mayfield at 16.6 points and Kirk Cousins at 16.5, a gap of 0.1. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. 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.

What the market projects

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).

Player markets imply 16.5 fantasy points for Kirk Cousins, with 45 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Kirk Cousins is 238 passing yards (3 market sources).

That puts Baker Mayfield 0.1 points ahead of Kirk Cousins 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.

Kirk Cousins and LV visit NYJ on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

NYJ allowed 16.7 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 15th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 203 yards and 1.6 touchdowns a game against NYJ, with 0.1 interceptions a game.

By points allowed to the position, Baker Mayfield has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Baker Mayfield is not on the injury report.

Kirk Cousins 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, Kirk Cousins played 98 percent of LV snaps, dropped back 269 times and threw an average of 8.2 air yards per attempt.

Kirk Cousins, Week 4 against KC: 84 of 84 snaps, 31 of 49 passes for 365 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

Kirk Cousins, Week 5 against NE: 50 of 60 snaps, 19 of 28 passes for 243 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions.

Kirk Cousins, Week 6 against BUF: 66 of 66 snaps, 23 of 41 passes for 313 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

Kirk Cousins, Week 7 against LAR: 68 of 68 snaps, 26 of 44 passes for 295 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 3 carries for 6 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, Kirk Cousins played 10 games for ATL and scored 108.5 PPR points, 10.9 a game, finishing QB35.

He completed 166 of 269 passes for 1721 yards, 10 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, and ran 14 times for 7 yards and 1 touchdown.

He was on the field for 46 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 Kirk Cousins for Baker Mayfield?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Baker Mayfield projects 144 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.0 a game over 9 games), Kirk Cousins 128 (14.2 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Baker Mayfield over Kirk Cousins, 16.6 to 16.5 projected PPR points.
Should I drop Baker Mayfield for Kirk Cousins?
No. Keep Baker Mayfield: he projects 144 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.0 a game over 9 games), Kirk Cousins 128 (14.2 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Baker Mayfield over Kirk Cousins, 16.6 to 16.5 projected PPR points.

Should I drop Kirk Cousins?