Start C.J. Stroud or Joe Burrow? Week 5

Our Week 5 call

Start Joe Burrow over C.J. Stroud in Week 5.

Market-based projections have Joe Burrow at 16.6 points and C.J. Stroud at 16.6, a gap of 0.1. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 16.6 fantasy points for Joe Burrow, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market has Joe Burrow at 235.5 passing yards and 1.5 passing touchdowns, with a 12% chance to score a touchdown (12, 12 and 11 market sources).

Player markets imply 16.6 fantasy points for C.J. Stroud, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market has C.J. Stroud at 240.5 passing yards, 1.5 passing touchdowns and 9.5 rushing yards, with a 12% chance to score a touchdown (13, 11, 10 and 12 market sources).

That puts Joe Burrow 0.1 points ahead of C.J. Stroud on the market projections.

Injury status

Joe Burrow is not on the injury report.

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

Usage before Week 5

Through Week 4, Joe Burrow played 100 percent of CIN snaps, dropped back 171 times and threw an average of 7.1 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.

Joe Burrow, Week 3 against PIT: 57 of 57 snaps, 28 of 37 passes for 282 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 13 yards.

Joe Burrow, Week 4 against JAX: 76 of 76 snaps, 39 of 54 passes for 428 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, 3 carries for 6 yards.

Through Week 4, C.J. Stroud played 100 percent of HOU snaps, dropped back 166 times and threw an average of 10.3 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.

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.

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.

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 5 calls

• Start Joe Burrow over Aaron Rodgers.
• Start Joe Burrow over Bo Nix.
• Start Joe Burrow over Brock Purdy.
• Start C.J. Stroud over Aaron Rodgers.
• Start C.J. Stroud over Bo Nix.
• Start C.J. Stroud over Brock Purdy.