Start Tyler Shough or C.J. Stroud? Week 5

Our Week 5 call

Start Tyler Shough over C.J. Stroud in Week 5.

Market-based projections have Tyler Shough at 17.3 points and C.J. Stroud at 16.4, a gap of 0.9. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Tyler Shough'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 16.4 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 17.3 fantasy points for Tyler Shough, with 80 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market has Tyler Shough at 238.5 passing yards and 1.5 passing touchdowns, with a 22% chance to score a touchdown (13, 14 and 14 market sources).

That puts Tyler Shough 0.9 points ahead of C.J. Stroud on the market projections.

Injury status

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

Tyler Shough is listed as questionable with a hand injury.

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, Tyler Shough played 100 percent of NO snaps, dropped back 197 times and threw an average of 8.3 air yards per attempt.

Tyler Shough, Week 1 against DET: 90 of 90 snaps, 35 of 55 passes for 410 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, 4 carries for 8 yards.

Tyler Shough, Week 2 against BAL: 68 of 68 snaps, 27 of 34 passes for 252 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 8 carries for 24 yards.

Tyler Shough, Week 3 against LV: 74 of 74 snaps, 29 of 42 passes for 255 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception, 1 carry for 36 yards.

Tyler Shough, Week 4 against ATL: 74 of 74 snaps, 30 of 48 passes for 286 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 5 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, Tyler Shough played 11 games for NO and scored 164.0 PPR points, 14.9 a game, finishing QB26.

He completed 221 of 327 passes for 2384 yards, 10 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, and ran 45 times for 186 yards and 3 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 51 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 5 calls

• Start C.J. Stroud over Aaron Rodgers.
• Start Bo Nix over C.J. Stroud.
• Start Brock Purdy over C.J. Stroud.
• Start Tyler Shough over Aaron Rodgers.
• Start Tyler Shough over Bo Nix.
• Start Tyler Shough over Brock Purdy.