Start C.J. Stroud or Kirk Cousins? Week 9
Updated Nov 3, 3:41 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 10 answer posts Tuesday.
Start Kirk Cousins over C.J. Stroud
- Market projects
- 17.5
- fantasy pts
- SF D vs QB
- 15.7
- 11th fewest to QBs (2026)
- Snap share
- 98%
- Through Week 8
- Market projects
- 17.1
- fantasy pts
- LAC D vs QB
- 14.3
- 8th fewest to QBs (2026)
- Snap share
- 100%
- Through Week 7
Should I drop Kirk Cousins for C.J. Stroud?
Yes, on the rest of the season. C.J. Stroud projects 152 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (16.9 a game over 9 games), Kirk Cousins 117 (14.6 a game over 8 games). For Week 9 the call starts Kirk Cousins over C.J. Stroud, 17.5 to 17.1 projected PPR points. So make the move after his Week 9 game.
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Our Week 9 call
Start Kirk Cousins over C.J. Stroud in Week 9.
Market-based projections have Kirk Cousins at 17.5 points and C.J. Stroud at 17.1, a gap of 0.5. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. 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 17.5 fantasy points for Kirk Cousins, with 80 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.
The market-based projection for Kirk Cousins is 1-2 passing touchdowns (3 market sources).
Player markets imply 17.1 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 (7, 7, 7 and 7 market sources).
That puts Kirk Cousins 0.5 points ahead of C.J. Stroud on the market projections.
Week 9 matchups
Kirk Cousins and LV visit SF on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.
SF allowed 15.7 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 11th fewest in the league.
Quarterbacks threw for 224 yards and 1.4 touchdowns a game against SF, with 0.4 interceptions a game.
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.
By points allowed to the position, Kirk Cousins has the softer matchup.
Injury status
Kirk Cousins is not on the injury report.
C.J. Stroud is not on the injury report.
Usage before Week 9
Through Week 8, Kirk Cousins played 98 percent of LV snaps, dropped back 296 times and threw an average of 8.1 air yards per attempt.
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.
Kirk Cousins, Week 7 against LAR: 68 of 68 snaps, 26 of 44 passes for 295 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 3 carries for 6 yards.
Kirk Cousins, Week 8 against NYJ: 63 of 63 snaps, 19 of 26 passes for 247 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 3 carries for 5 yards.
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.
Their 2025 seasons
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.
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 9 calls
Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 9, 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 152 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (16.9 a game over 9 games), Kirk Cousins 117 (14.6 a game over 8 games). For Week 9 the call starts Kirk Cousins over C.J. Stroud, 17.5 to 17.1 projected PPR points. So make the move after his Week 9 game.
Should I drop C.J. Stroud for Kirk Cousins?
No. Keep C.J. Stroud: he projects 152 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (16.9 a game over 9 games), Kirk Cousins 117 (14.6 a game over 8 games). For Week 9 the call starts Kirk Cousins over C.J. Stroud, 17.5 to 17.1 projected PPR points.
Should I drop C.J. Stroud?Should I drop Kirk Cousins?
Week 9 on the board
- Is C.J. Stroud playing Week 9?
- Is Kirk Cousins playing Week 9?
- Texans depth chart
- Raiders depth chart
- Week 9 QB rankings
- Week 9 fantasy rankings
- Week 9 start or sit
- Week 9 waiver wire
- Week 9 trade value chart
- Trade deadline buy low, sell high
- Fantasy football rankings
- Start 'em sit 'em Week 9
- Waiver wire pickups
- Fantasy sleepers
- Rest of season rankings
- Week 9 kicker rankings
- Week 9 defense rankings