Start Bo Nix or J.J. McCarthy? Week 9

Our Week 9 call

Start Bo Nix over J.J. McCarthy in Week 9.

Market-based projections have Bo Nix at 16.0 points and J.J. McCarthy at 15.8, a gap of 0.2. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. J.J. McCarthy'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.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 16.0 fantasy points for Bo Nix, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Bo Nix is 210 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns, 15 rushing yards and 0.2 rushing touchdowns (14, 15, 13 and 13 market sources).

Player markets imply 15.8 fantasy points for J.J. McCarthy, with 80 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for J.J. McCarthy is 211 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns and 0.2 rushing touchdowns (13, 13 and 10 market sources).

That puts Bo Nix 0.2 points ahead of J.J. McCarthy on the market projections.

Week 9 matchups

Bo Nix and DEN visit CAR on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CAR allowed 17.4 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 15th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 220 yards and 1.4 touchdowns a game against CAR, with 0.6 interceptions a game.

J.J. McCarthy and NYG visit PHI on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

PHI allowed 19.3 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 8 games, the 10th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 244 yards and 1-2 touchdowns a game against PHI, with 0.4 interceptions a game.

By points allowed to the position, J.J. McCarthy has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Bo Nix is not on the injury report.

J.J. McCarthy is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 9

Through Week 8, Bo Nix played 100 percent of DEN snaps, dropped back 268 times and threw an average of 5.4 air yards per attempt.

Bo Nix, Week 5 against LAC: 62 of 62 snaps, 16 of 27 passes for 123 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 4 carries for 10 yards.

Bo Nix, Week 6 against SEA: 60 of 60 snaps, 17 of 27 passes for 107 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 3 carries for 3 yards.

Bo Nix, Week 7 against ARI: 61 of 61 snaps, 15 of 29 passes for 222 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 5 carries for 75 yards.

Bo Nix, Week 8 against KC: 62 of 62 snaps, 20 of 32 passes for 222 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 5 yards.

Through Week 7, J.J. McCarthy played 42 percent of NYG snaps, dropped back 49 times and threw an average of 11.8 air yards per attempt.

J.J. McCarthy, Week 5 against WAS: 5 of 89 snaps, 0 of 0 passes for 0 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 2 yards.

J.J. McCarthy, Week 6 against NO: 31 of 77 snaps, 11 of 17 passes for 243 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 2 carries for 26 yards.

J.J. McCarthy, Week 7 against HOU: 61 of 66 snaps, 20 of 27 passes for 252 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 1 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Bo Nix played 17 games for DEN and scored 315.8 PPR points, 18.6 a game, finishing QB7.

He completed 388 of 612 passes for 3931 yards, 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and ran 83 times for 356 yards and 5 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 100 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, J.J. McCarthy played 10 games for MIN and scored 137.4 PPR points, 13.7 a game, finishing QB30.

He completed 140 of 243 passes for 1632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, and ran 37 times for 181 yards and 4 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 94 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 9 calls

• Start Bo Nix over Baker Mayfield.
• Start Bo Nix over Bryce Young.
• Start Caleb Williams over Bo Nix.
• Start Baker Mayfield over J.J. McCarthy.
• Start J.J. McCarthy over Bryce Young.
• Start C.J. Stroud over J.J. McCarthy.