Baker Mayfield · Deshaun Watson · 2026 week 5

Baker Mayfield or Deshaun Watson?

Wondering who you should start this week — Baker Mayfield or Deshaun Watson? 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 (CAR allow the 7th-most QB points), but you can defend either call.

Player	Wk 5	Proj (PPR)	Matchup	Form L3	Trade value	Status
Baker Mayfield START	@ CAR	14.9	7th · soft	12.4	148	Out
Deshaun Watson	@ NYJ	14.8	28th · tough	18	118	healthy

QBs vs CAR recently: Cooper Rush 1.4 pts (W2) · Deshaun Watson 20.3 pts (W3) · Jared Goff 20.5 pts (W4).

QBs vs NYJ recently: Jordan Love 13.8 pts (W2) · Jared Goff 19.4 pts (W3) · Tyson Bagent 9.8 pts (W4).

🎓 The coach's read

Projections are 0.1 apart — too close to call on projection alone.
Baker Mayfield faces CAR, 7th most generous to QBs.
Baker Mayfield is flagged OUT.
Deshaun Watson faces NYJ, 28th most generous to QBs.

Who wins a straight-up trade?

Baker Mayfield carries the higher trade value — 148 against 118 (a 20% gap). In a one-for-one, the side receiving Baker Mayfield gets the most. Momentum: Baker Mayfield -395 and Deshaun Watson +118 over the last 30 days.

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

More QB decisions

Baker Mayfield or Kirk Cousins?Baker Mayfield or Kyler Murray?Baker Mayfield or C.J. Stroud?Deshaun Watson or C.J. Stroud?Deshaun Watson or Geno Smith?

All numbers are the 2026 season, refreshed nightly.