Start Deshaun Watson or Kirk Cousins? Week 7

Updated Oct 19, 3:01 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Deshaun Watson over Kirk Cousins

Start

Deshaun Watson

QB · CLE · at TEN

Market projects: 14.8; recent weeks avg
TEN D vs QB: 15.5; 11th fewest to QBs (2026)
Snap share: 100%; Through Week 6

Sit

Kirk Cousins

QB · LV · vs LAR

Market projects: 13.1; recent weeks avg
LAR D vs QB: 19.3; 11th most to QBs (2026)
Snap share: 97%; Through Week 6

Should I drop Kirk Cousins for Deshaun Watson?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Deshaun Watson projects 164 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (16.4 a game over 10 games), Kirk Cousins 142 (14.2 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Deshaun Watson over Kirk Cousins.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Deshaun Watson over Kirk Cousins in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Deshaun Watson at 14.8 points and Kirk Cousins at 13.1, a gap of 1.7. No player market is posted for Deshaun Watson this week yet, so his 14.8 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 5 (13.4 and 16.3); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Kirk Cousins this week yet, so his 13.1 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 5 (14.0 and 12.2); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 7 player market is posted for Deshaun Watson yet. His market-based projections were 13.4 and 16.3 points in Weeks 4 and 5, an average of 14.8, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

No Week 7 player market is posted for Kirk Cousins yet. His market-based projections were 14.0 and 12.2 points in Weeks 4 and 5, an average of 13.1, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

That puts Deshaun Watson 1.7 points ahead of Kirk Cousins on these projections.

Week 7 matchups

Deshaun Watson and CLE visit TEN on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

TEN allowed 15.5 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 5 games, the 11th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 229 yards and a touchdown a game against TEN, with 0.4 interceptions.

Kirk Cousins and LV host LAR on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

LAR allowed 19.3 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 5 games, the 11th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 165 yards and 1.6 touchdowns a game against LAR, with 0.8 interceptions.

By points allowed to the position, Kirk Cousins has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Deshaun Watson is not on the injury report.

Kirk Cousins is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Deshaun Watson played 100 percent of CLE snaps, dropped back 220 times and threw an average of 7.3 air yards per attempt.

Deshaun Watson, Week 3 against CAR: 69 of 70 snaps, 16 of 30 passes for 144 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 9 carries for 47 yards.

Deshaun Watson, Week 4 against PIT: 64 of 64 snaps, 24 of 33 passes for 268 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 5 carries for 24 yards.

Deshaun Watson, Week 5 against NYJ: 68 of 68 snaps, 15 of 33 passes for 155 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 6 carries for 40 yards.

Deshaun Watson, Week 6 against BAL: 16 of 26 passes for 164 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 8 carries for 29 yards.

Through Week 6, Kirk Cousins played 97 percent of LV snaps, dropped back 221 times and threw an average of 8.4 air yards per attempt.

Kirk Cousins, Week 3 against NO: 70 of 70 snaps, 22 of 33 passes for 248 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 5 yards.

Kirk Cousins, Week 4 against KC: 84 of 84 snaps, 31 of 49 passes for 365 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

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: 23 of 41 passes for 313 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

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.

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 Kirk Cousins for Deshaun Watson?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Deshaun Watson projects 164 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (16.4 a game over 10 games), Kirk Cousins 142 (14.2 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Deshaun Watson over Kirk Cousins.
Should I drop Deshaun Watson for Kirk Cousins?
No. Keep Deshaun Watson: he projects 164 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (16.4 a game over 10 games), Kirk Cousins 142 (14.2 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Deshaun Watson over Kirk Cousins.