Start Joe Burrow or C.J. Stroud? Week 3

Our Week 3 call

Start Joe Burrow over C.J. Stroud in Week 3.

De-vigged player props project Joe Burrow at 17.4 points and C.J. Stroud at 16.9, a gap of 0.4. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Both numbers are scaled up from a partial market: the books have not posted every stat the position needs, so the rest is estimated from what they have.

What the books imply

Player prop markets imply 17.4 fantasy points for Joe Burrow, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The books have Joe Burrow at 253.5 passing yards, 1.5 passing touchdowns and 5.5 rushing yards, with a 12% chance to score a touchdown (14, 16, 11 and 14 books).

Player prop markets imply 16.9 fantasy points for C.J. Stroud, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The books have C.J. Stroud at 236.5 passing yards, 1.5 passing touchdowns and 9.5 rushing yards, with a 11% chance to score a touchdown (14, 17, 14 and 14 books).

That puts Joe Burrow 0.4 points ahead of C.J. Stroud on the books.

Injury status

Joe Burrow is not on the injury report.

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

Usage before Week 3

Through Week 2, Joe Burrow played 100 percent of CIN snaps, dropped back 73 times and threw an average of 6.0 air yards per attempt.

Joe Burrow, Week 1 against TB: 64 of 64 snaps, 25 of 35 passes for 254 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 4 carries for 21 yards.

Joe Burrow, Week 2 against HOU: 60 of 60 snaps, 20 of 31 passes for 207 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

Through Week 2, C.J. Stroud played 100 percent of HOU snaps, dropped back 102 times and threw an average of 8.8 air yards per attempt.

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.

C.J. Stroud, Week 2 against CIN: 80 of 80 snaps, 30 of 53 passes for 353 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 3 carries for 29 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Joe Burrow played 8 games for CIN and scored 139.5 PPR points, 17.4 a game, finishing QB29.

He completed 173 of 259 passes for 1809 yards, 17 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, and ran 14 times for 41 yards and 0 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 86 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Joe Burrow, Week 18 of 2025 against CLE: 29 of 39 passes for 236 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, 2 carries for 17 yards, 22.1 PPR points.

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.

Their other Week 3 calls

• Start Joe Burrow over Bo Nix.
• Start Bryce Young over Joe Burrow.
• Start Joe Burrow over Dak Prescott.
• Start C.J. Stroud over Baker Mayfield.
• Start C.J. Stroud over Bo Nix.
• Start Bryce Young over C.J. Stroud.