Start C.J. Stroud or Tyler Shough? Week 7

Updated Oct 19, 2:16 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Early kickoff: 9:30 AM ET, set your lineup before then.

Shough projects lower, 17.3 to 18.7, and still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player: ADP 147 for Shough, 185 for Stroud.

Start

Tyler Shough

QB · NO · vs PIT

Market projects: 17.3; recent weeks avg
PIT D vs QB: 12.9; 2nd fewest to QBs (2026)
Snap share: 100%; 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 Tyler Shough?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Tyler Shough projects 175 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (17.5 a game over 10 games), C.J. Stroud 165 (16.5 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Tyler Shough over C.J. Stroud.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Tyler Shough over C.J. Stroud in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Tyler Shough 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. Tyler Shough still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player, ADP 147 against 185, and that outweighs a gap this size. No player market is posted for Tyler Shough this week yet, so his 17.3 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 5 (18.0 and 16.6); 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 Tyler Shough yet. His market-based projections were 18.0 and 16.6 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 Tyler Shough 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.

Tyler Shough and NO host PIT on Sunday at 9:30 AM ET.

PIT allowed 12.9 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 5 games, the 2nd fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 234 yards and a touchdown a game against PIT, with 0.8 interceptions.

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

Injury status

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

Tyler Shough 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, Tyler Shough played 100 percent of NO snaps, dropped back 255 times and threw an average of 7.8 air yards per attempt.

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.

Tyler Shough, Week 5 against MIN: 45 of 45 snaps, 16 of 25 passes for 96 yards, 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

Tyler Shough, Week 6 against NYG: 16 of 30 passes for 144 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 4 carries for 33 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 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 Tyler Shough?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Tyler Shough projects 175 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (17.5 a game over 10 games), C.J. Stroud 165 (16.5 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Tyler Shough over C.J. Stroud.
Should I drop Tyler Shough for C.J. Stroud?
No. Keep Tyler Shough: he projects 175 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (17.5 a game over 10 games), C.J. Stroud 165 (16.5 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Tyler Shough over C.J. Stroud.