Start Drake Maye or C.J. Stroud? Week 7

Updated Oct 19, 2:21 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Drake Maye over C.J. Stroud

Start

Drake Maye

QB · NE · at CHI

Market projects: 20.2; recent weeks avg
CHI D vs QB: 17.5; 14th most to QBs (2026)
Snap share: 96%; Through Week 6

Sit

C.J. Stroud

QB · HOU · vs NYG

Market projects: 18.6; recent weeks avg
NYG D vs QB: 19.9; 9th most to QBs (2026)
Snap share: 100%; Through Week 6

Should I drop C.J. Stroud for Drake Maye?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Drake Maye projects 181 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (18.1 a game over 10 games), C.J. Stroud 165 (16.5 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Drake Maye over C.J. Stroud.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Drake Maye over C.J. Stroud in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Drake Maye at 20.2 points and C.J. Stroud at 18.6, a gap of 1.6. No player market is posted for Drake Maye this week yet, so his 20.2 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 5 (23.6 and 16.8); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for C.J. Stroud this week yet, so his 18.6 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 5 (23.2 and 14.1); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. Drafters take Drake Maye at ADP 50 and C.J. Stroud at 185.

What the market projects

No Week 7 player market is posted for Drake Maye yet. His market-based projections were 23.6 and 16.8 points in Weeks 4 and 5, an average of 20.2, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

No Week 7 player market is posted for C.J. Stroud yet. His market-based projections were 23.2 and 14.1 points in Weeks 4 and 5, an average of 18.7, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

That puts Drake Maye 1.6 points ahead of C.J. Stroud on these projections.

Week 7 matchups

Drake Maye and NE visit CHI on Thursday at 8:15 PM ET.

CHI allowed 17.5 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 5 games, the 14th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 229 yards and 1.2 touchdowns a game against CHI, with 0.6 interceptions.

C.J. Stroud and HOU host NYG on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

NYG allowed 19.9 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 5 games, the 9th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 210 yards and 1.8 touchdowns a game against NYG, with 1.2 interceptions.

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

Injury status

Drake Maye is not on the injury report.

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

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Drake Maye played 96 percent of NE snaps, dropped back 214 times and threw an average of 9.0 air yards per attempt.

Drake Maye, Week 3 against JAX: 51 of 63 snaps, 14 of 25 passes for 199 yards, 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, 4 carries for 18 yards.

Drake Maye, Week 4 against BUF: 76 of 76 snaps, 22 of 37 passes for 269 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, 6 carries for 56 yards.

Drake Maye, Week 5 against LV: 75 of 75 snaps, 26 of 34 passes for 374 yards, 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 4 carries for 29 yards.

Drake Maye, Week 6 against NYJ: 18 of 32 passes for 235 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 3 carries for 25 yards.

Through Week 6, C.J. Stroud played 100 percent of HOU snaps, dropped back 237 times and threw an average of 9.5 air yards per attempt.

C.J. Stroud, Week 3 against IND: 54 of 54 snaps, 16 of 27 passes for 167 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 10 yards.

C.J. Stroud, Week 4 against DAL: 55 of 55 snaps, 21 of 29 passes for 347 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 12 yards.

C.J. Stroud, Week 5 against TEN: 66 of 66 snaps, 26 of 34 passes for 261 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 4 carries for 7 yards.

C.J. Stroud, Week 6 against JAX: 63 of 63 snaps, 24 of 34 passes for 312 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, 1 carry for 5 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Drake Maye played 17 games for NE and scored 360.0 PPR points, 21.2 a game, finishing QB2.

He completed 354 of 492 passes for 4394 yards, 31 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, and ran 103 times for 450 yards and 4 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 97 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

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.

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 C.J. Stroud for Drake Maye?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Drake Maye projects 181 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (18.1 a game over 10 games), C.J. Stroud 165 (16.5 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Drake Maye over C.J. Stroud.
Should I drop Drake Maye for C.J. Stroud?
No. Keep Drake Maye: he projects 181 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (18.1 a game over 10 games), C.J. Stroud 165 (16.5 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Drake Maye over C.J. Stroud.