Start C.J. Stroud or J.J. McCarthy? Week 9

Our Week 9 call

Start C.J. Stroud over J.J. McCarthy in Week 9.

Market-based projections have C.J. Stroud at 16.8 points and J.J. McCarthy at 15.8, a gap of 1.0. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. J.J. McCarthy'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.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 16.8 fantasy points for C.J. Stroud, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for C.J. Stroud is 249 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns, 8 rushing yards and 0.2 rushing touchdowns (14, 12, 12 and 12 market sources).

Player markets imply 15.8 fantasy points for J.J. McCarthy, with 80 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for J.J. McCarthy is 211 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns and 0.2 rushing touchdowns (13, 13 and 10 market sources).

That puts C.J. Stroud 1.0 points ahead of J.J. McCarthy on the market projections.

Week 9 matchups

C.J. Stroud and HOU visit LAC on Sunday at 4:05 PM ET.

LAC allowed 14.3 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 8th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 208 yards and 1.1 touchdowns a game against LAC, with 0.9 interceptions a game.

J.J. McCarthy and NYG visit PHI on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

PHI allowed 19.3 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 8 games, the 10th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 244 yards and 1-2 touchdowns a game against PHI, with 0.4 interceptions a game.

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

Injury status

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

J.J. McCarthy is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 9

Through Week 7, C.J. Stroud played 100 percent of HOU snaps, dropped back 266 times and threw an average of 9.3 air yards per attempt.

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.

C.J. Stroud, Week 7 against NYG: 61 of 61 snaps, 17 of 28 passes for 153 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 4 yards.

Through Week 7, J.J. McCarthy played 42 percent of NYG snaps, dropped back 49 times and threw an average of 11.8 air yards per attempt.

J.J. McCarthy, Week 5 against WAS: 5 of 89 snaps, 0 of 0 passes for 0 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 2 yards.

J.J. McCarthy, Week 6 against NO: 31 of 77 snaps, 11 of 17 passes for 243 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 2 carries for 26 yards.

J.J. McCarthy, Week 7 against HOU: 61 of 66 snaps, 20 of 27 passes for 252 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 1 yards.

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.

In 2025, J.J. McCarthy played 10 games for MIN and scored 137.4 PPR points, 13.7 a game, finishing QB30.

He completed 140 of 243 passes for 1632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, and ran 37 times for 181 yards and 4 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 94 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 9 calls

• Start C.J. Stroud over Baker Mayfield.
• Start Bo Nix over C.J. Stroud.
• Start Brock Purdy over C.J. Stroud.
• Start Baker Mayfield over J.J. McCarthy.
• Start Bo Nix over J.J. McCarthy.
• Start J.J. McCarthy over Bryce Young.