Start Patrick Mahomes or Malik Willis? Week 8

Updated Oct 28, 6:36 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Patrick Mahomes over Malik Willis

Start

Patrick Mahomes

QB · KC · at DEN

Market projects: 16.2; fantasy pts
DEN D vs QB: 16.1; 12th fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 35 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 100%; Through Week 7

Sit

Malik Willis

QB · MIA · vs NE

Market projects: 15.5; fantasy pts
NE D vs QB: 15.7; 9th fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 78 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 100%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Malik Willis for Patrick Mahomes?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Patrick Mahomes projects 171 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (17.1 a game over 10 games), Malik Willis 146 (14.6 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Patrick Mahomes over Malik Willis, 16.2 to 15.5 projected PPR points.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Patrick Mahomes over Malik Willis in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Patrick Mahomes at 16.2 points and Malik Willis at 15.5, a gap of 0.7. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Drafters take Patrick Mahomes at ADP 107 and Malik Willis at 197.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 16.2 fantasy points for Patrick Mahomes, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Patrick Mahomes is 225 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns, 0-1 interceptions, 13 rushing yards and 0.2 rushing touchdowns (13, 14, 6, 13 and 13 market sources).

Player markets imply 15.5 fantasy points for Malik Willis, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Malik Willis is 185 passing yards, 35 rushing yards and 0.3 rushing touchdowns (8, 10 and 13 market sources).

That puts Patrick Mahomes 0.7 points ahead of Malik Willis on the market projections.

Week 8 matchups

Patrick Mahomes and KC visit DEN on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

DEN allowed 16.2 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 12th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 236 yards and 1.1 touchdowns a game against DEN, with an interception a game.

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.

By points allowed to the position, Patrick Mahomes has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Patrick Mahomes is not on the injury report.

Malik Willis is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Patrick Mahomes played 100 percent of KC snaps, dropped back 210 times and threw an average of 6.0 air yards per attempt.

Patrick Mahomes, Week 3 against MIA: 52 of 52 snaps, 20 of 24 passes for 246 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, 1 carry for 1 yards.

Patrick Mahomes, Week 4 against LV: 60 of 60 snaps, 15 of 30 passes for 225 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 1 yards.

Patrick Mahomes, Week 6 against LAC: 61 of 61 snaps, 23 of 30 passes for 272 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception, 3 carries for 19 yards.

Patrick Mahomes, Week 7 against SEA: 53 of 53 snaps, 19 of 33 passes for 165 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception, 2 carries for 14 yards.

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.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Patrick Mahomes played 14 games for KC and scored 296.7 PPR points, 21.2 a game, finishing QB11.

He completed 315 of 502 passes for 3587 yards, 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and ran 64 times for 422 yards and 5 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 97 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 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 Malik Willis for Patrick Mahomes?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Patrick Mahomes projects 171 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (17.1 a game over 10 games), Malik Willis 146 (14.6 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Patrick Mahomes over Malik Willis, 16.2 to 15.5 projected PPR points.
Should I drop Patrick Mahomes for Malik Willis?
No. Keep Patrick Mahomes: he projects 171 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (17.1 a game over 10 games), Malik Willis 146 (14.6 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Patrick Mahomes over Malik Willis, 16.2 to 15.5 projected PPR points.