Start Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 11:56 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Maye projects lower, 18.4 to 18.5, and still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player: ADP 50 for Maye, 74 for Daniels.

Start

Drake Maye

QB · NE · at MIA

Market projects: 18.4; recent weeks avg
MIA D vs QB: 20.3; 7th most to QBs (2026)
Upside: High; 88 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 97%; Through Week 7

Sit

Jayden Daniels

QB · WAS · vs PHI

Market projects: 18.5; recent weeks avg
PHI D vs QB: 20.0; 9th most to QBs (2026)
Upside: High; 100 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 88%; Through Week 6

Should I drop Drake Maye for Jayden Daniels?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Jayden Daniels projects 185 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.5 a game over 10 games), Drake Maye 167 (18.5 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Drake Maye over Jayden Daniels. So make the move after his Week 8 game.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Drake Maye over Jayden Daniels in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Drake Maye at 18.4 points and Jayden Daniels at 18.5, a gap of 0.1. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Drake Maye still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player, ADP 50 against 74, and that outweighs a gap this size. No player market is posted for Drake Maye this week yet, so his 18.4 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (16.8, 19.1 and 19.3); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Jayden Daniels this week yet, so his 18.5 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5 and 6 (17.8 and 19.2); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Jayden Daniels yet. His market-based projections were 17.8 and 19.2 points in Weeks 5 and 6, an average of 18.5, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

No Week 8 player market is posted for Drake Maye yet. His market-based projections were 16.8, 19.1 and 19.3 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 18.4, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for Drake Maye is 0.3 touchdowns (7 market sources).

That puts Jayden Daniels 0.1 points ahead of Drake Maye on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Jayden Daniels and WAS host PHI on Sunday at 8:20 PM ET.

PHI allowed 20.0 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 9th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 248 yards and 1.6 touchdowns a game against PHI, with 0.4 interceptions a game.

Drake Maye and NE visit MIA on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

MIA allowed 20.3 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 6 games, the 7th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 236 yards and 2.3 touchdowns a game against MIA, with 0.7 interceptions a game.

By points allowed to the position, Drake Maye has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Jayden Daniels is not on the injury report.

Drake Maye is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 6, Jayden Daniels played 88 percent of WAS snaps, dropped back 143 times and threw an average of 8.5 air yards per attempt.

Jayden Daniels, Week 1 against PHI: 70 of 70 snaps, 18 of 34 passes for 164 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 5 carries for 31 yards.

Jayden Daniels, Week 2 against DAL: 39 of 71 snaps, 11 of 17 passes for 96 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 7 carries for 69 yards.

Jayden Daniels, Week 5 against NYG: 62 of 62 snaps, 17 of 25 passes for 199 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 8 carries for 104 yards.

Jayden Daniels, Week 6 against SF: 67 of 67 snaps, 29 of 38 passes for 300 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 3 carries for 11 yards.

Through Week 7, Drake Maye played 97 percent of NE snaps, dropped back 249 times and threw an average of 9.1 air yards per attempt.

Drake Maye, Week 4 against BUF: 76 of 76 snaps, 22 of 37 passes for 269 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, 6 carries for 56 yards.

Drake Maye, Week 5 against LV: 75 of 75 snaps, 26 of 34 passes for 374 yards, 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 4 carries for 29 yards.

Drake Maye, Week 6 against NYJ: 68 of 68 snaps, 18 of 32 passes for 235 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 3 carries for 25 yards.

Drake Maye, Week 7 against CHI: 54 of 54 snaps, 24 of 30 passes for 321 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, 4 carries for 26 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Jayden Daniels played 7 games for WAS and scored 117.3 PPR points, 16.8 a game, finishing QB34.

He completed 114 of 188 passes for 1262 yards, 8 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, and ran 58 times for 278 yards and 2 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 91 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Drake Maye played 17 games for NE and scored 360.0 PPR points, 21.2 a game, finishing QB2.

He completed 354 of 492 passes for 4394 yards, 31 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, and ran 103 times for 450 yards and 4 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 97 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 8 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 8, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Drake Maye for Jayden Daniels?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Jayden Daniels projects 185 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.5 a game over 10 games), Drake Maye 167 (18.5 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Drake Maye over Jayden Daniels. So make the move after his Week 8 game.
Should I drop Jayden Daniels for Drake Maye?
No. Keep Jayden Daniels: he projects 185 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.5 a game over 10 games), Drake Maye 167 (18.5 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Drake Maye over Jayden Daniels.