Start Deshaun Watson 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.

Start Tyler Shough over Deshaun Watson

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

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

Should I drop Deshaun Watson 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), Deshaun Watson 164 (16.4 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Tyler Shough over Deshaun Watson.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Tyler Shough over Deshaun Watson in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Tyler Shough at 17.3 points and Deshaun Watson at 14.8, a gap of 2.5. 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 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.

What the market projects

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.

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.

That puts Tyler Shough 2.5 points ahead of Deshaun Watson on these projections.

Week 7 matchups

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.

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.

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

Injury status

Tyler Shough is not on the injury report.

Deshaun Watson is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

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.

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, 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 Deshaun Watson 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), Deshaun Watson 164 (16.4 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Tyler Shough over Deshaun Watson.
Should I drop Tyler Shough for Deshaun Watson?
No. Keep Tyler Shough: he projects 175 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (17.5 a game over 10 games), Deshaun Watson 164 (16.4 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Tyler Shough over Deshaun Watson.