Start Drake Maye or Matthew Stafford? 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 19.4, and still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player: ADP 50 for Maye, 75 for Stafford.

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

Matthew Stafford

QB · LAR · vs LAC

Market projects: 19.4; recent weeks avg
LAC D vs QB: 15.2; 7th fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 9 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 98%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Matthew Stafford for Drake Maye?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Drake Maye projects 167 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.5 a game over 9 games), Matthew Stafford 149 (16.5 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Drake Maye over Matthew Stafford.

Parlae may earn a commission from price links.

Drake Maye rookie cards

Make this call for your own roster

Sync your league and My Team sets this week's lineup for your actual roster, spot by spot. Free, no account.

Sync my league

Sleeper ESPN Yahoo

Or get it by email

Tuesday 7am ET: one email with what moved on the board and who is worth a claim.

Free. One a week, one tap to stop.

Our Week 8 call

Start Drake Maye over Matthew Stafford in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Drake Maye at 18.4 points and Matthew Stafford at 19.4, a gap of 1.0. 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 75, 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 Matthew Stafford this week yet, so his 19.4 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (20.7, 21.1 and 16.5); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Matthew Stafford yet. His market-based projections were 20.7, 21.1 and 16.5 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 19.4, 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 Matthew Stafford 1.0 points ahead of Drake Maye on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Matthew Stafford and LAR host LAC on Sunday at 4:05 PM ET.

LAC allowed 15.2 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 6 games, the 7th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 216 yards and 1.2 touchdowns a game against LAC, with 0.8 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

Matthew Stafford is not on the injury report.

Drake Maye is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Matthew Stafford played 98 percent of LAR snaps, dropped back 290 times and threw an average of 8.0 air yards per attempt.

Matthew Stafford, Week 4 against PHI: 84 of 84 snaps, 32 of 51 passes for 317 yards, 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, 2 carries for 11 yards.

Matthew Stafford, Week 5 against BUF: 82 of 82 snaps, 40 of 54 passes for 383 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

Matthew Stafford, Week 6 against ARI: 58 of 58 snaps, 25 of 33 passes for 222 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

Matthew Stafford, Week 7 against LV: 72 of 72 snaps, 23 of 29 passes for 195 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception.

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, Matthew Stafford played 17 games for LAR and scored 358.4 PPR points, 21.1 a game, finishing QB3.

He completed 388 of 597 passes for 4707 yards, 46 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, and ran 29 times for 1 yards and 0 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 99 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 Matthew Stafford for Drake Maye?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Drake Maye projects 167 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.5 a game over 9 games), Matthew Stafford 149 (16.5 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Drake Maye over Matthew Stafford.
Should I drop Drake Maye for Matthew Stafford?
No. Keep Drake Maye: he projects 167 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.5 a game over 9 games), Matthew Stafford 149 (16.5 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Drake Maye over Matthew Stafford.

Should I drop Matthew Stafford?