Start Caleb Williams or Matthew Stafford? Week 8

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

Start Matthew Stafford over Caleb Williams

Start

Matthew Stafford

QB · LAR · vs LAC

Market projects: 19.4; recent weeks avg
LAC D vs QB: 15.2; 7th fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 9 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 98%; Through Week 7

Sit

Caleb Williams

QB · CHI · at SEA

Market projects: 17.2; fantasy pts
SEA D vs QB: 11.6; 2nd fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Moderate; 53 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 97%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Matthew Stafford for Caleb Williams?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Caleb Williams projects 167 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.5 a game over 9 games), Matthew Stafford 149 (16.5 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Matthew Stafford over Caleb Williams. So make the move after his Week 8 game.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Matthew Stafford over Caleb Williams in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Matthew Stafford at 19.4 points and Caleb Williams at 17.2, a gap of 2.2. Caleb Williams'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. No player market is posted for Matthew Stafford this week yet, so his 19.4 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (20.7, 21.1 and 16.5); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. Drafters take Matthew Stafford at ADP 75 and Caleb Williams at 87.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Matthew Stafford yet. His market-based projections were 20.7, 21.1 and 16.5 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 19.4, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

Player markets imply 17.2 fantasy points for Caleb Williams, with 70 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Caleb Williams is 226 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns and 0.2 rushing touchdowns (7, 9 and 8 market sources).

That puts Matthew Stafford 2.2 points ahead of Caleb Williams on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Matthew Stafford and LAR host LAC on Sunday at 4:05 PM ET.

LAC allowed 15.2 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 6 games, the 7th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 216 yards and 1.2 touchdowns a game against LAC, with 0.8 interceptions a game.

Caleb Williams and CHI visit SEA on Monday at 8:15 PM ET.

SEA allowed 11.6 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 2nd fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 158 yards and 1.1 touchdowns a game against SEA, with 1.1 interceptions a game.

By points allowed to the position, Matthew Stafford has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Matthew Stafford is not on the injury report.

Caleb Williams is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Matthew Stafford played 98 percent of LAR snaps, dropped back 290 times and threw an average of 8.0 air yards per attempt.

Matthew Stafford, Week 4 against PHI: 84 of 84 snaps, 32 of 51 passes for 317 yards, 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, 2 carries for 11 yards.

Matthew Stafford, Week 5 against BUF: 82 of 82 snaps, 40 of 54 passes for 383 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

Matthew Stafford, Week 6 against ARI: 58 of 58 snaps, 25 of 33 passes for 222 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

Matthew Stafford, Week 7 against LV: 72 of 72 snaps, 23 of 29 passes for 195 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception.

Through Week 7, Caleb Williams played 97 percent of CHI snaps, dropped back 150 times and threw an average of 7.0 air yards per attempt.

Caleb Williams, Week 1 against CAR: 75 of 75 snaps, 21 of 29 passes for 269 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 10 carries for 65 yards.

Caleb Williams, Week 2 against MIN: 64 of 74 snaps, 15 of 26 passes for 138 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception, 5 carries for 42 yards.

Caleb Williams, Week 6 against ATL: 77 of 77 snaps, 30 of 36 passes for 305 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 3 carries for 4 yards.

Caleb Williams, Week 7 against NE: 69 of 69 snaps, 22 of 33 passes for 308 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 4 carries for 19 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Matthew Stafford played 17 games for LAR and scored 358.4 PPR points, 21.1 a game, finishing QB3.

He completed 388 of 597 passes for 4707 yards, 46 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, and ran 29 times for 1 yards and 0 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 99 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Caleb Williams played 17 games for CHI and scored 325.2 PPR points, 19.1 a game, finishing QB5.

He completed 330 of 568 passes for 3942 yards, 27 touchdowns and 7 interceptions, and ran 77 times for 383 yards and 3 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 99 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 Matthew Stafford for Caleb Williams?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Caleb Williams projects 167 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.5 a game over 9 games), Matthew Stafford 149 (16.5 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Matthew Stafford over Caleb Williams. So make the move after his Week 8 game.
Should I drop Caleb Williams for Matthew Stafford?
No. Keep Caleb Williams: he projects 167 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.5 a game over 9 games), Matthew Stafford 149 (16.5 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Matthew Stafford over Caleb Williams.

Should I drop Matthew Stafford?