Start Deshaun Watson or Michael Penix Jr.? Week 7

Updated Oct 19, 3:16 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Deshaun Watson over Michael Penix Jr.

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

Michael Penix Jr.

QB · ATL · vs SF · Questionable

Market projects: 12.2; recent weeks avg
SF D vs QB: 13.7; 5th fewest to QBs (2026)

Should I drop Michael Penix Jr. 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), Michael Penix Jr. 136 (13.6 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Deshaun Watson over Michael Penix Jr. Michael Penix Jr. is listed questionable.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Deshaun Watson over Michael Penix Jr. in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Deshaun Watson at 14.8 points and Michael Penix Jr. at 12.2, a gap of 2.6. 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 Michael Penix Jr. this week yet, so his 12.2 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 5 (12.1 and 12.4); 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 Michael Penix Jr. yet. His market-based projections were 12.1 and 12.4 points in Weeks 4 and 5, an average of 12.2, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

That puts Deshaun Watson 2.6 points ahead of Michael Penix Jr. 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.

Michael Penix Jr. and ATL host SF on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

SF allowed 13.7 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 5 games, the 5th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 211 yards and a touchdown a game against SF, with 0.6 interceptions.

By points allowed to the position, Deshaun Watson has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Deshaun Watson is not on the injury report.

Michael Penix Jr. is listed as questionable with a undisclosed injury.

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.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Michael Penix Jr. played 9 games for ATL and scored 123.3 PPR points, 13.7 a game, finishing QB33.

He completed 166 of 276 passes for 1982 yards, 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, and ran 21 times for 70 yards and 1 touchdown.

He was on the field for 93 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 Michael Penix Jr. 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), Michael Penix Jr. 136 (13.6 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Deshaun Watson over Michael Penix Jr. Michael Penix Jr. is listed questionable.
Should I drop Deshaun Watson for Michael Penix Jr.?
No. Keep Deshaun Watson: he projects 164 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (16.4 a game over 10 games), Michael Penix Jr. 136 (13.6 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Deshaun Watson over Michael Penix Jr. Michael Penix Jr. is listed questionable.