C.J. Stroud · Kirk Cousins · 2026 week 3

C.J. Stroud or Kirk Cousins?

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

Start C.J. Stroud — barelyThis one is a coin flip — the projections are within 1 points. The matchup leans C.J. Stroud (IND allow the 3rd-most QB points), but you can defend either call.

Player	Wk 3	Proj (PPR)	Matchup	Form L3	Trade value	Status
C.J. Stroud START	@ IND	15.7	3rd · soft	16.8	366	healthy
Kirk Cousins	@ NO	14.7	19th	18.5	130	healthy

QBs vs IND recently: Lamar Jackson 25 pts (W1) · Patrick Mahomes 29 pts (W2).

QBs vs NO recently: Jared Goff 16.4 pts (W1) · Lamar Jackson 15.8 pts (W2).

Who wins a straight-up trade?

C.J. Stroud carries the higher trade value — 366 against 130 (a 64% gap). In a one-for-one, the side receiving C.J. Stroud gets the most. Momentum: C.J. Stroud +88 and Kirk Cousins +72 over the last 30 days.

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

More QB decisions

C.J. Stroud or Jayden Daniels?C.J. Stroud or Baker Mayfield?C.J. Stroud or Kyler Murray?Kirk Cousins or Sam Darnold?Kirk Cousins or Malik Willis?

All numbers are the 2026 season, refreshed nightly.