Start C.J. Stroud or Jacoby Brissett? Week 1

Our Week 1 call

Start C.J. Stroud over Jacoby Brissett in Week 1.

C.J. Stroud is priced by the books at 8.8 projected points. Jacoby Brissett has no player market posted for this week, so his side of this call rests on consensus ADP and the news wire only. Drafters take C.J. Stroud at ADP 185 and Jacoby Brissett at 227. Market coverage on C.J. Stroud is 45 percent of what his position needs, so the market side of this carries proportionally less weight.

What the books imply

Player prop markets imply 8.8 fantasy points for C.J. Stroud, with 45 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

No sportsbook posted a player market for Jacoby Brissett in Week 1.

Week 1 matchups

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

BUF allowed 16.5 fantasy points to QBs in its one game this season, the 16th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 274 yards and 2 touchdowns against BUF, with no interceptions.

Jacoby Brissett and ARI visit LAC.

LAC allowed 16.5 fantasy points to QBs in its one game this season, the 15th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 277 yards and a touchdown against LAC, with no interceptions.

By points allowed to the position, Jacoby Brissett has the softer matchup.

Injury status

C.J. Stroud was not on the injury report when the call was made.

Jacoby Brissett was not on the injury report when the call was made.

Their 2025 seasons

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.

C.J. Stroud, Week 17 of 2025 against LAC: 65 of 65 snaps, 16 of 28 passes for 244 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, 4 carries for 0 yards, 15.8 PPR points.

C.J. Stroud, Week 16 of 2025 against LV: 65 of 65 snaps, 23 of 35 passes for 187 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 4 carries for 0 yards, 11.5 PPR points.

In 2025, Jacoby Brissett played 14 games for ARI and scored 235.4 PPR points, 16.8 a game, finishing QB16.

He completed 315 of 485 passes for 3366 yards, 23 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, and ran 38 times for 168 yards and 1 touchdown.

He was on the field for 70 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Jacoby Brissett, Week 18 of 2025 against LAR: 22 of 31 passes for 243 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, 3 carries for 19 yards, 16.6 PPR points.

Jacoby Brissett, Week 17 of 2025 against CIN: 57 of 57 snaps, 21 of 37 passes for 212 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 16.5 PPR points.

Jacoby Brissett, Week 16 of 2025 against ATL: 57 of 57 snaps, 16 of 31 passes for 203 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 1 carry for 5 yards, 11.6 PPR points.

How Week 1 went

C.J. Stroud scored 16.5 PPR points and Jacoby Brissett scored 16.5.

The call was wrong: Jacoby Brissett outscored C.J. Stroud by 0.0.

C.J. Stroud finished 7.7 points above the 8.8 the props implied.

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, 16.5 PPR points.

C.J. Stroud finished as the week's QB16 in PPR scoring.

Jacoby Brissett, Week 1 against LAC: 75 of 75 snaps, 27 of 37 passes for 277 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 6 carries for 14 yards, 16.5 PPR points.

Jacoby Brissett finished as the week's QB15 in PPR scoring.

Their other Week 1 calls

• Start C.J. Stroud over Bryce Young.
• Start C.J. Stroud over Cam Ward.
• Start Daniel Jones over C.J. Stroud.
• Start Jacoby Brissett over Aaron Rodgers.
• Start Bryce Young over Jacoby Brissett.
• Start Cam Ward over Jacoby Brissett.