Start Drake Maye or Justin Herbert? Week 3

Our Week 3 call

Start Drake Maye over Justin Herbert in Week 3.

De-vigged player props project Drake Maye at 18.6 points and Justin Herbert at 17.7, a gap of 0.9. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Both numbers are scaled up from a partial market: the books have not posted every stat the position needs, so the rest is estimated from what they have.

What the books imply

Player prop markets imply 18.6 fantasy points for Drake Maye, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The books have Drake Maye at 218.5 passing yards, 1.5 passing touchdowns and 25.5 rushing yards, with a 25% chance to score a touchdown (17, 17, 12 and 15 books).

Player prop markets imply 17.7 fantasy points for Justin Herbert, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The books have Justin Herbert at 223.5 passing yards, 1.5 passing touchdowns and 19.5 rushing yards, with a 17% chance to score a touchdown (16, 16, 13 and 15 books).

That puts Drake Maye 0.9 points ahead of Justin Herbert on the books.

Week 3 matchups

Justin Herbert and LAC visit BUF on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

BUF allowed 23.1 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 2 games, the 6th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 301 yards and 3.0 touchdowns a game against BUF, with no interceptions.

Injury status

Drake Maye is not on the injury report.

Justin Herbert is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 3

Through Week 2, Drake Maye played 100 percent of NE snaps, dropped back 69 times and threw an average of 7.6 air yards per attempt.

Drake Maye, Week 1 against SEA: 71 of 71 snaps, 23 of 33 passes for 178 yards, 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions, 7 carries for 47 yards.

Drake Maye, Week 2 against PIT: 55 of 55 snaps, 14 of 22 passes for 208 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception, 2 carries for 20 yards.

Through Week 2, Justin Herbert played 100 percent of LAC snaps, dropped back 66 times and threw an average of 10.0 air yards per attempt.

Justin Herbert, Week 1 against ARI: 55 of 55 snaps, 17 of 27 passes for 209 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 5 carries for 29 yards.

Justin Herbert, Week 2 against LV: 68 of 68 snaps, 15 of 27 passes for 192 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, 3 carries for 2 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

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.

Drake Maye, Week 18 of 2025 against MIA: 14 of 18 passes for 191 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 5 carries for 41 yards, 15.7 PPR points.

In 2025, Justin Herbert played 16 games for LAC and scored 299.9 PPR points, 18.7 a game, finishing QB10.

He completed 340 of 512 passes for 3727 yards, 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, and ran 83 times for 498 yards and 2 touchdowns.

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

Justin Herbert, Week 17 of 2025 against HOU: 63 of 63 snaps, 21 of 32 passes for 236 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 6 carries for 37 yards, 16.1 PPR points.

Their other Week 3 calls

• Start Drake Maye over Bryce Young.
• Start Dak Prescott over Drake Maye.
• Start Jared Goff over Drake Maye.
• Start Bryce Young over Justin Herbert.
• Start C.J. Stroud over Justin Herbert.
• Start Dak Prescott over Justin Herbert.