Start Michael Penix Jr. or Malik Willis? Week 9

Our Week 9 call

Start Michael Penix Jr. over Malik Willis in Week 9.

Market-based projections have Michael Penix Jr. at 16.2 points and Malik Willis at 14.1, a gap of 2.1. Michael Penix Jr.'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. No player market is posted for Malik Willis this week yet, so his 14.1 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 7 and 8 (14.1 and 14.1); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 16.2 fantasy points for Michael Penix Jr., with 80 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Michael Penix Jr. is 222 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns and 0.1 rushing touchdowns (13, 13 and 11 market sources).

No Week 9 player market is posted for Malik Willis yet. His market-based projections were 14.1 and 14.1 points in Weeks 7 and 8, an average of 14.1, which stands in until his Week 9 market posts.

The market-based projection for Malik Willis is 0.3 touchdowns (5 market sources).

That puts Michael Penix Jr. 2.1 points ahead of Malik Willis on these projections.

Week 9 matchups

Michael Penix Jr. and ATL host CIN on Sunday at 9:30 AM ET.

CIN allowed 18.4 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 14th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 261 yards and 1.1 touchdowns a game against CIN, with 0.6 interceptions a game.

Malik Willis and MIA host DET on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

DET allowed 25.5 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 298 yards and 2.6 touchdowns a game against DET, with 0.7 interceptions a game.

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

Injury status

Michael Penix Jr. is not on the injury report.

Malik Willis is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 9

Through Week 8, Michael Penix Jr. played 99 percent of ATL snaps, dropped back 59 times and threw an average of 7.2 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.

Michael Penix Jr., Week 8 against TB: 53 of 53 snaps, 8 of 24 passes for 125 yards, 0 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, 5 carries for 11 yards.

Through Week 8, Malik Willis played 100 percent of MIA snaps, dropped back 225 times and threw an average of 9.4 air yards per attempt.

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.

Malik Willis, Week 8 against NE: 65 of 65 snaps, 21 of 32 passes for 211 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, 1 carry for 2 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

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.

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.

Their other Week 9 calls

• Start Michael Penix Jr. over Baker Mayfield.
• Start Michael Penix Jr. over Bo Nix.
• Start Michael Penix Jr. over Bryce Young.
• Start Baker Mayfield over Malik Willis.
• Start Bo Nix over Malik Willis.
• Start Bryce Young over Malik Willis.