Start C.J. Stroud or Kirk Cousins? Week 7

Updated Oct 21, 3:01 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Start C.J. Stroud over Kirk Cousins

Start

C.J. Stroud

QB · HOU · vs NYG

Market projects: 18.8; fantasy pts
NYG D vs QB: 21.1; 7th most to QBs (2026)
Upside: High; 86 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 100%; Through Week 6

Sit

Kirk Cousins

QB · LV · vs LAR

Market projects: 16.7; fantasy pts
LAR D vs QB: 17.4; 16th most to QBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 26 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 98%; Through Week 6

Should I drop Kirk Cousins for C.J. Stroud?

Yes, on the rest of the season. C.J. Stroud projects 169 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (16.9 a game over 10 games), Kirk Cousins 145 (14.5 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts C.J. Stroud over Kirk Cousins, 18.8 to 16.7 projected PPR points.

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C.J. Stroud rookie cards

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Our Week 7 call

Start C.J. Stroud over Kirk Cousins in Week 7.

Market-based projections have C.J. Stroud at 18.8 points and Kirk Cousins at 16.7, a gap of 2.1. Kirk Cousins'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 18.8 fantasy points for C.J. Stroud, with 90 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for C.J. Stroud is 256 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns, 10 rushing yards and 0.2 rushing touchdowns (9, 13, 12 and 13 market sources).

Player markets imply 16.7 fantasy points for Kirk Cousins, with 80 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Kirk Cousins is 238 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns and under 0.1 rushing touchdowns (13, 13 and 13 market sources).

That puts C.J. Stroud 2.1 points ahead of Kirk Cousins on the market projections.

Week 7 matchups

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

NYG allowed 21.1 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 6 games, the 7th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 199 yards and 2.0 touchdowns a game against NYG, with an interception a game.

Kirk Cousins and LV host LAR on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

LAR allowed 17.4 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 6 games, the 16th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 174 yards and 1.3 touchdowns a game against LAR, with 0.8 interceptions a game.

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

Injury status

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

Kirk Cousins is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

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.

Through Week 6, Kirk Cousins played 98 percent of LV snaps, dropped back 221 times and threw an average of 8.4 air yards per attempt.

Kirk Cousins, Week 3 against NO: 70 of 70 snaps, 22 of 33 passes for 248 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 5 yards.

Kirk Cousins, Week 4 against KC: 84 of 84 snaps, 31 of 49 passes for 365 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

Kirk Cousins, Week 5 against NE: 50 of 60 snaps, 19 of 28 passes for 243 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions.

Kirk Cousins, Week 6 against BUF: 66 of 66 snaps, 23 of 41 passes for 313 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

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, Kirk Cousins played 10 games for ATL and scored 108.5 PPR points, 10.9 a game, finishing QB35.

He completed 166 of 269 passes for 1721 yards, 10 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, and ran 14 times for 7 yards and 1 touchdown.

He was on the field for 46 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 Kirk Cousins for C.J. Stroud?
Yes, on the rest of the season. C.J. Stroud projects 169 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (16.9 a game over 10 games), Kirk Cousins 145 (14.5 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts C.J. Stroud over Kirk Cousins, 18.8 to 16.7 projected PPR points.
Should I drop C.J. Stroud for Kirk Cousins?
No. Keep C.J. Stroud: he projects 169 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (16.9 a game over 10 games), Kirk Cousins 145 (14.5 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts C.J. Stroud over Kirk Cousins, 18.8 to 16.7 projected PPR points.