Start Malik Willis or Michael Penix Jr.? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 7:41 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Malik Willis over Michael Penix Jr.

Start

Malik Willis

QB · MIA · vs NE

Market projects: 14.7; recent weeks avg
NE D vs QB: 15.7; 9th fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 69 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 100%; Through Week 7

Sit

Michael Penix Jr.

QB · ATL · at TB

Market projects: 14.3; recent weeks avg
TB D vs QB: 14.7; 6th fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 19 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 99%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Michael Penix Jr. for Malik Willis?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Malik Willis projects 144 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (14.4 a game over 10 games), Michael Penix Jr. 135 (15.0 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Malik Willis over Michael Penix Jr.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Malik Willis over Michael Penix Jr. in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Malik Willis at 14.7 points and Michael Penix Jr. at 14.3, a gap of 0.4. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Malik Willis this week yet, so his 14.7 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5 and 7 (15.2 and 14.1); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Michael Penix Jr. this week yet, so his 14.3 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (12.4, 15.3 and 15.3); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Malik Willis yet. His market-based projections were 15.2 and 14.1 points in Weeks 5 and 7, an average of 14.7, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for Malik Willis is 0.3 touchdowns (7 market sources).

No Week 8 player market is posted for Michael Penix Jr. yet. His market-based projections were 12.4, 15.3 and 15.3 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 14.3, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

That puts Malik Willis 0.4 points ahead of Michael Penix Jr. on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Malik Willis and MIA host NE on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

NE allowed 15.7 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 9th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 239 yards and 1.3 touchdowns a game against NE, with 0.6 interceptions a game.

Michael Penix Jr. and ATL visit TB on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

TB allowed 14.7 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 6th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 234 yards and 1.4 touchdowns a game against TB, with 1.1 interceptions a game.

By points allowed to the position, Malik Willis has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Malik Willis is not on the injury report.

Michael Penix Jr. is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Malik Willis played 100 percent of MIA snaps, dropped back 188 times and threw an average of 9.7 air yards per attempt.

Malik Willis, Week 3 against KC: 73 of 73 snaps, 20 of 36 passes for 210 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception, 9 carries for 56 yards.

Malik Willis, Week 4 against MIN: 39 of 39 snaps, 9 of 17 passes for 85 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 11 yards.

Malik Willis, Week 5 against CIN: 66 of 66 snaps, 15 of 26 passes for 137 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, 8 carries for 74 yards.

Malik Willis, Week 7 against NYJ: 65 of 65 snaps, 14 of 21 passes for 208 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 6 carries for 39 yards.

Through Week 7, Michael Penix Jr. played 99 percent of ATL snaps, dropped back 34 times and threw an average of 6.1 air yards per attempt.

Michael Penix Jr., Week 7 against SF: 68 of 69 snaps, 25 of 33 passes for 213 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 2 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Malik Willis played 4 games for GB and scored 51.2 PPR points, 12.8 a game, finishing QB45.

He completed 30 of 35 passes for 422 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, and ran 22 times for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 10 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Michael Penix Jr. played 9 games for ATL and scored 123.3 PPR points, 13.7 a game, finishing QB33.

He completed 166 of 276 passes for 1982 yards, 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, and ran 21 times for 70 yards and 1 touchdown.

He was on the field for 93 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 Michael Penix Jr. for Malik Willis?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Malik Willis projects 144 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (14.4 a game over 10 games), Michael Penix Jr. 135 (15.0 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Malik Willis over Michael Penix Jr.
Should I drop Malik Willis for Michael Penix Jr.?
No. Keep Malik Willis: he projects 144 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (14.4 a game over 10 games), Michael Penix Jr. 135 (15.0 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Malik Willis over Michael Penix Jr.