Baker Mayfield · C.J. Stroud · 2026 week 8

Baker Mayfield or C.J. Stroud?

Wondering who you should start this week — Baker Mayfield or C.J. Stroud? The start/sit call and the numbers behind it are below, plus who wins a straight-up trade. Rebuilt nightly.

Start Baker Mayfield — barelyThis one is a coin flip — the projections are within 0.1 points. The matchup leans Baker Mayfield (ATL allow the 13th-most QB points), but you can defend either call.

Player	Wk 8	Proj (PPR)	Matchup	Form L3	Trade value	Status
Baker Mayfield START	vs ATL	16.2	13th	10.7	241	healthy
C.J. Stroud	@ LAC	16.1	26th · tough	20.5	714	healthy

QBs vs ATL recently: Tyler Huntley 24 pts (W5) · Caleb Williams 16.5 pts (W6) · Brock Purdy 14 pts (W7).

QBs vs LAC recently: Sam Darnold 14.3 pts (W4) · Bo Nix 7.9 pts (W5) · Patrick Mahomes 11.5 pts (W6).

🎓 The coach's read

Projections are 0.1 apart — too close to call on projection alone.
Baker Mayfield faces ATL, 13th most generous to QBs.
C.J. Stroud faces LAC, 26th most generous to QBs.

Who wins a straight-up trade?

C.J. Stroud carries the higher trade value — 714 against 241 (a 66% gap). In a one-for-one, the side receiving C.J. Stroud gets the most. Momentum: Baker Mayfield +38 and C.J. Stroud +466 over the last 30 days.

Open in Start/Sit (any scoring) Open in the Trade Analyzer

More QB decisions

Baker Mayfield or Sam Darnold?Baker Mayfield or Justin Herbert?Baker Mayfield or Kyler Murray?C.J. Stroud or Matthew Stafford?C.J. Stroud or Jordan Love?C.J. Stroud or Tyler Shough?

All numbers are the 2026 season, refreshed nightly.