Start Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud? Week 3

Our Week 3 call

Start Bryce Young over C.J. Stroud in Week 3.

De-vigged player props project Bryce Young at 17.4 points and C.J. Stroud at 17.2, a gap of 0.2. 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: the books have not posted every stat the position needs, so the rest is estimated from what they have.

What the books imply

Player prop markets imply 17.4 fantasy points for Bryce Young, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The books have Bryce Young at 223.5 passing yards, 1.5 passing touchdowns and 14.5 rushing yards, with a 16% chance to score a touchdown (15, 17, 15 and 14 books).

Player prop markets imply 17.2 fantasy points for C.J. Stroud, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The books have C.J. Stroud at 239.5 passing yards, 1.5 passing touchdowns and 10.5 rushing yards, with a 12% chance to score a touchdown (16, 17, 15 and 16 books).

That puts Bryce Young 0.2 points ahead of C.J. Stroud on the books.

Injury status

Bryce Young is not on the injury report.

C.J. Stroud is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 3

Through Week 2, Bryce Young played 92 percent of CAR snaps, dropped back 80 times and threw an average of 9.2 air yards per attempt.

Bryce Young, Week 1 against CHI: 61 of 68 snaps, 23 of 37 passes for 361 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, 2 carries for 10 yards.

Bryce Young, Week 2 against ATL: 62 of 66 snaps, 23 of 36 passes for 287 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 6 yards.

Through Week 2, C.J. Stroud played 100 percent of HOU snaps, dropped back 102 times and threw an average of 8.8 air yards per attempt.

C.J. Stroud, Week 1 against BUF: 79 of 79 snaps, 26 of 38 passes for 274 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 15 yards.

C.J. Stroud, Week 2 against CIN: 80 of 80 snaps, 30 of 53 passes for 353 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 3 carries for 29 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Bryce Young played 16 games for CAR and scored 229.0 PPR points, 14.3 a game, finishing QB19.

He completed 304 of 478 passes for 3011 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and ran 54 times for 216 yards and 2 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 96 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Bryce Young, Week 18 of 2025 against TB: 51 of 51 snaps, 24 of 35 passes for 266 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, 2 carries for -1 yards, 17.5 PPR points.

In 2025, C.J. Stroud played 14 games for HOU and scored 216.5 PPR points, 15.5 a game, finishing QB21.

He completed 273 of 423 passes for 3041 yards, 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, and ran 48 times for 209 yards and 1 touchdown.

He was on the field for 93 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

C.J. Stroud, Week 18 of 2025 against IND: 14 of 23 passes for 169 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 5 yards, 17.3 PPR points.

Their other Week 3 calls

• Start Bryce Young over Bo Nix.
• Start Dak Prescott over Bryce Young.
• Start Bryce Young over Deshaun Watson.
• Start C.J. Stroud over Baker Mayfield.
• Start C.J. Stroud over Bo Nix.
• Start Deshaun Watson over C.J. Stroud.