Start Matthew Stafford or C.J. Stroud? Week 7

Updated Oct 19, 2:31 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Stafford projects lower, 17.3 to 18.7, and still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player: ADP 75 for Stafford, 185 for Stroud.

Start

Matthew Stafford

QB · LAR · at LV

Market projects: 17.3; recent weeks avg
LV D vs QB: 21.8; 5th most to QBs (2026)
Snap share: 97%; Through Week 6

Sit

C.J. Stroud

QB · HOU · vs NYG

Market projects: 18.6; recent weeks avg
NYG D vs QB: 19.9; 9th most to QBs (2026)
Snap share: 100%; Through Week 6

Should I drop C.J. Stroud for Matthew Stafford?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Matthew Stafford projects 180 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (18.0 a game over 10 games), C.J. Stroud 165 (16.5 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Matthew Stafford over C.J. Stroud.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Matthew Stafford over C.J. Stroud in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Matthew Stafford at 17.3 points and C.J. Stroud at 18.6, a gap of 1.3. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Matthew Stafford still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player, ADP 75 against 185, and that outweighs a gap this size. No player market is posted for Matthew Stafford this week yet, so his 17.3 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 5 (13.9 and 20.7); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for C.J. Stroud this week yet, so his 18.6 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 5 (23.2 and 14.1); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 7 player market is posted for C.J. Stroud yet. His market-based projections were 23.2 and 14.1 points in Weeks 4 and 5, an average of 18.7, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

No Week 7 player market is posted for Matthew Stafford yet. His market-based projections were 14.0 and 20.7 points in Weeks 4 and 5, an average of 17.3, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

That puts C.J. Stroud 1.3 points ahead of Matthew Stafford on these projections.

Week 7 matchups

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

NYG allowed 19.9 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 5 games, the 9th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 210 yards and 1.8 touchdowns a game against NYG, with 1.2 interceptions.

Matthew Stafford and LAR visit LV on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

LV allowed 21.8 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 5 games, the 5th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 253 yards and 2.2 touchdowns a game against LV, with 0.8 interceptions.

By points allowed to the position, Matthew Stafford has the softer matchup.

Injury status

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

Matthew Stafford 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, Matthew Stafford played 97 percent of LAR snaps, dropped back 260 times and threw an average of 8.3 air yards per attempt.

Matthew Stafford, Week 3 against DEN: 86 of 86 snaps, 30 of 53 passes for 390 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, 2 carries for 13 yards.

Matthew Stafford, Week 4 against PHI: 84 of 84 snaps, 32 of 51 passes for 317 yards, 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, 2 carries for 11 yards.

Matthew Stafford, Week 5 against BUF: 82 of 82 snaps, 40 of 54 passes for 383 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

Matthew Stafford, Week 6 against ARI: 25 of 33 passes for 222 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

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, Matthew Stafford played 17 games for LAR and scored 358.4 PPR points, 21.1 a game, finishing QB3.

He completed 388 of 597 passes for 4707 yards, 46 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, and ran 29 times for 1 yards and 0 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 99 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 C.J. Stroud for Matthew Stafford?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Matthew Stafford projects 180 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (18.0 a game over 10 games), C.J. Stroud 165 (16.5 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Matthew Stafford over C.J. Stroud.
Should I drop Matthew Stafford for C.J. Stroud?
No. Keep Matthew Stafford: he projects 180 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (18.0 a game over 10 games), C.J. Stroud 165 (16.5 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Matthew Stafford over C.J. Stroud.