Start Drake Maye or Lamar Jackson? Week 7

Updated Oct 22, 5:21 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Latest

Oct 21, 4:54 PM ET: Ravens' Lamar Jackson returns to practice but status remains unclear vs. Bengals (ESPN)

Start Drake Maye over Lamar Jackson

Start

Drake Maye

QB · NE · at CHI

Market projects: 19.4; fantasy pts
CHI D vs QB: 18.4; 15th most to QBs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 69 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 97%; Through Week 6

Sit

Lamar Jackson

QB · BAL · vs CIN · Questionable

Market projects: 19.2; fantasy pts
CIN D vs QB: 17.3; 16th fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 26 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 88%; Through Week 4

Should I drop Lamar Jackson for Drake Maye?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Drake Maye projects 185 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (18.5 a game over 10 games), Lamar Jackson 115 (11.5 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Drake Maye over Lamar Jackson, 19.4 to 19.2 projected PPR points. Lamar Jackson is listed questionable.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Drake Maye over Lamar Jackson in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Drake Maye at 19.4 points and Lamar Jackson at 19.2, a gap of 0.2. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Lamar Jackson's number is scaled up from a partial market: not every stat the position needs is posted yet, so the rest is estimated from what is. Drafters take Drake Maye at ADP 50 and Lamar Jackson at 57.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 19.4 fantasy points for Drake Maye, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Drake Maye is 249 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns, 29 rushing yards and 0.2 rushing touchdowns (13, 14, 12 and 13 market sources).

Player markets imply 19.2 fantasy points for Lamar Jackson, with 45 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Lamar Jackson is 0.4 touchdowns (6 market sources).

That puts Drake Maye 0.2 points ahead of Lamar Jackson on the market projections.

Week 7 matchups

Drake Maye and NE visit CHI on Thursday at 8:15 PM ET.

CHI allowed 18.5 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 6 games, the 15th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 228 yards and 1-2 touchdowns a game against CHI, with 0.5 interceptions a game.

Lamar Jackson and BAL host CIN on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CIN allowed 17.3 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 5 games, the 16th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 245 yards and a touchdown a game against CIN, with 0.6 interceptions a game.

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

Injury status

Drake Maye is not on the injury report.

Lamar Jackson is listed as questionable with a ankle injury.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Drake Maye played 97 percent of NE snaps, dropped back 214 times and threw an average of 9.0 air yards per attempt.

Drake Maye, Week 3 against JAX: 51 of 63 snaps, 14 of 25 passes for 199 yards, 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, 4 carries for 18 yards.

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.

Through Week 4, Lamar Jackson played 88 percent of BAL snaps, dropped back 111 times and threw an average of 10.4 air yards per attempt.

Lamar Jackson, Week 1 against IND: 68 of 68 snaps, 17 of 24 passes for 324 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 4 carries for 43 yards.

Lamar Jackson, Week 2 against NO: 58 of 58 snaps, 21 of 30 passes for 235 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 4 carries for 34 yards.

Lamar Jackson, Week 3 against DAL: 64 of 64 snaps, 15 of 20 passes for 186 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 6 carries for 50 yards.

Lamar Jackson, Week 4 against TEN: 33 of 64 snaps, 15 of 20 passes for 222 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 20 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.

In 2025, Lamar Jackson played 13 games for BAL and scored 221.9 PPR points, 17.1 a game, finishing QB20.

He completed 192 of 302 passes for 2549 yards, 21 touchdowns and 7 interceptions, and ran 67 times for 349 yards and 2 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 92 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 Lamar Jackson for Drake Maye?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Drake Maye projects 185 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (18.5 a game over 10 games), Lamar Jackson 115 (11.5 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Drake Maye over Lamar Jackson, 19.4 to 19.2 projected PPR points. Lamar Jackson is listed questionable.
Should I drop Drake Maye for Lamar Jackson?
No. Keep Drake Maye: he projects 185 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (18.5 a game over 10 games), Lamar Jackson 115 (11.5 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Drake Maye over Lamar Jackson, 19.4 to 19.2 projected PPR points. Lamar Jackson is listed questionable.