Start Bryce Young or Michael Penix Jr.? Week 7

Updated Oct 21, 5:01 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Bryce Young over Michael Penix Jr.

Start

Bryce Young

QB · CAR · vs TB

Market projects: 17.4; fantasy pts
TB D vs QB: 15.3; 10th fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Moderate; 57 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 97%; Through Week 6

Sit

Michael Penix Jr.

QB · ATL · vs SF

Market projects: 15.1; fantasy pts
SF D vs QB: 14.9; 7th fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 34 of 100 at QB

Should I drop Michael Penix Jr. for Bryce Young?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Bryce Young projects 186 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (16.9 a game over 11 games), Michael Penix Jr. 151 (15.1 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Bryce Young over Michael Penix Jr., 17.5 to 15.1 projected PPR points.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Bryce Young over Michael Penix Jr. in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Bryce Young at 17.4 points and Michael Penix Jr. at 15.1, a gap of 2.4.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 17.5 fantasy points for Bryce Young, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Bryce Young is 254 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns, 11 rushing yards and 0.2 rushing touchdowns (13, 14, 7 and 12 market sources).

Player markets imply 15.1 fantasy points for Michael Penix Jr., with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Michael Penix Jr. is 229 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns, 2 rushing yards and 0.1 rushing touchdowns (13, 13, 8 and 12 market sources).

That puts Bryce Young 2.4 points ahead of Michael Penix Jr. on the market projections.

Week 7 matchups

Bryce Young and CAR host TB on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

TB allowed 15.3 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 6 games, the 10th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 238 yards and 1-2 touchdowns a game against TB, with an interception a game.

Michael Penix Jr. and ATL host SF on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

SF allowed 14.9 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 6 games, the 7th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 226 yards and 1.2 touchdowns a game against SF, with 0.5 interceptions a game.

By points allowed to the position, Bryce Young has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Bryce Young is not on the injury report.

Michael Penix Jr. is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Bryce Young played 97 percent of CAR snaps, dropped back 217 times and threw an average of 9.2 air yards per attempt.

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.

Bryce Young, Week 3 against CLE: 77 of 77 snaps, 26 of 47 passes for 291 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception.

Bryce Young, Week 4 against DET: 75 of 75 snaps, 29 of 41 passes for 329 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 7 yards.

Bryce Young, Week 6 against PHI: 79 of 79 snaps, 20 of 39 passes for 281 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 8 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.

In 2025, Michael Penix Jr. played 9 games for ATL and scored 123.3 PPR points, 13.7 a game, finishing QB33.

He completed 166 of 276 passes for 1982 yards, 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, and ran 21 times for 70 yards and 1 touchdown.

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

Their other Week 7 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 7, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Michael Penix Jr. for Bryce Young?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Bryce Young projects 186 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (16.9 a game over 11 games), Michael Penix Jr. 151 (15.1 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Bryce Young over Michael Penix Jr., 17.5 to 15.1 projected PPR points.
Should I drop Bryce Young for Michael Penix Jr.?
No. Keep Bryce Young: he projects 186 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (16.9 a game over 11 games), Michael Penix Jr. 151 (15.1 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Bryce Young over Michael Penix Jr., 17.5 to 15.1 projected PPR points.