Start C.J. Stroud or Malik Willis? Week 5

Our Week 5 call

Start C.J. Stroud over Malik Willis in Week 5.

Market-based projections have C.J. Stroud at 16.5 points and Malik Willis at 13.1, a gap of 3.4. Malik Willis'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 16.5 fantasy points for C.J. Stroud, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market has C.J. Stroud at 239.5 passing yards, 1.5 passing touchdowns and 9.5 rushing yards, with a 12% chance to score a touchdown (11, 11, 9 and 12 market sources).

Player markets imply 13.1 fantasy points for Malik Willis, with 80 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market has Malik Willis at 192.5 passing yards, with a 23% chance to score a touchdown (10 and 11 market sources).

That puts C.J. Stroud 3.4 points ahead of Malik Willis on the market projections.

Injury status

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

Malik Willis is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 5

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.

Through Week 4, Malik Willis played 100 percent of MIA snaps, dropped back 127 times and threw an average of 10.0 air yards per attempt.

Malik Willis, Week 1 against LV: 56 of 56 snaps, 15 of 27 passes for 220 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception, 6 carries for 39 yards.

Malik Willis, Week 2 against SF: 59 of 59 snaps, 14 of 23 passes for 197 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 6 yards.

Malik Willis, Week 3 against KC: 73 of 73 snaps, 20 of 36 passes for 210 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception, 9 carries for 56 yards.

Malik Willis, Week 4 against MIN: 39 of 39 snaps, 9 of 17 passes for 85 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 11 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, Malik Willis played 4 games for GB and scored 51.2 PPR points, 12.8 a game, finishing QB45.

He completed 30 of 35 passes for 422 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, and ran 22 times for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 10 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 5 calls

• Start C.J. Stroud over Aaron Rodgers.
• Start C.J. Stroud over Bo Nix.
• Start Brock Purdy over C.J. Stroud.
• Start Aaron Rodgers over Malik Willis.
• Start Brock Purdy over Malik Willis.
• Start Malik Willis over Cam Ward.