Start Bryce Young or Michael Penix Jr.? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 2:16 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Bryce Young over Michael Penix Jr.

Start

Bryce Young

QB · CAR · at GB

Market projects: 16.6; fantasy pts
GB D vs QB: 14.3; 5th fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 16 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 94%; Through Week 7

Sit

Michael Penix Jr.

QB · ATL · at TB

Market projects: 14.3; recent weeks avg
TB D vs QB: 14.7; 6th fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 19 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 99%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Michael Penix Jr. for Bryce Young?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Bryce Young projects 169 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.9 a game over 10 games), Michael Penix Jr. 135 (15.0 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Bryce Young over Michael Penix Jr.

Parlae may earn a commission from price links.

Michael Penix Jr. 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 Bryce Young over Michael Penix Jr. in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Bryce Young at 16.6 points and Michael Penix Jr. at 14.3, a gap of 2.2. No player market is posted for Michael Penix Jr. this week yet, so his 14.3 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (12.4, 15.3 and 15.3); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 16.6 fantasy points for Bryce Young, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Bryce Young is 251 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns, 10 rushing yards and 0.1 rushing touchdowns (13, 14, 13 and 13 market sources).

No Week 8 player market is posted for Michael Penix Jr. yet. His market-based projections were 12.4, 15.3 and 15.3 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 14.3, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

That puts Bryce Young 2.2 points ahead of Michael Penix Jr. on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Bryce Young and CAR visit GB on Thursday at 8:15 PM ET.

GB allowed 14.3 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 5th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 223 yards and 1.3 touchdowns a game against GB, with 1.3 interceptions a game.

Michael Penix Jr. and ATL visit TB on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

TB allowed 14.7 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 6th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 234 yards and 1.4 touchdowns a game against TB, with 1.1 interceptions a game.

By points allowed to the position, Michael Penix Jr. 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 8

Through Week 7, Bryce Young played 94 percent of CAR snaps, dropped back 250 times and threw an average of 8.8 air yards per attempt.

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.

Bryce Young, Week 7 against TB: 43 of 56 snaps, 14 of 27 passes for 163 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, 1 carry for 9 yards.

Through Week 7, Michael Penix Jr. played 99 percent of ATL snaps, dropped back 34 times and threw an average of 6.1 air yards per attempt.

Michael Penix Jr., Week 7 against SF: 68 of 69 snaps, 25 of 33 passes for 213 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 2 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 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 Michael Penix Jr. for Bryce Young?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Bryce Young projects 169 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.9 a game over 10 games), Michael Penix Jr. 135 (15.0 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Bryce Young over Michael Penix Jr.
Should I drop Bryce Young for Michael Penix Jr.?
No. Keep Bryce Young: he projects 169 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.9 a game over 10 games), Michael Penix Jr. 135 (15.0 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Bryce Young over Michael Penix Jr.

Should I drop Bryce Young?