Dak Prescott · Drake Maye · 2026 week 8

Dak Prescott or Drake Maye?

Wondering who you should start this week — Dak Prescott or Drake Maye? The start/sit call and the numbers behind it are below, plus who wins a straight-up trade. Rebuilt nightly.

Start Dak Prescott — barelyThis one is a coin flip — the projections are within 0.9 points. The matchup leans Dak Prescott (ARI allow the 3rd-most QB points), but you can defend either call.

Player	Wk 8	Proj (PPR)	Matchup	Form L3	Trade value	Status
Dak Prescott START	vs ARI	22.5	3rd · soft	17	1,782	healthy
Drake Maye	@ MIA	21.6	7th · soft	30.6	2,957	healthy

QBs vs ARI recently: Jared Goff 28.9 pts (W5) · Matthew Stafford 16.9 pts (W6) · Bo Nix 26.2 pts (W7).

QBs vs MIA recently: Kyler Murray 11.5 pts (W4) · Joe Burrow 24.6 pts (W5) · Geno Smith 24.5 pts (W7).

🎓 The coach's read

Projections are 0.9 apart — too close to call on projection alone.
Drake Maye has the higher floor (10.8) — the safer start if you are favoured.
Dak Prescott has the higher ceiling (33.7) — the play if you need points.
Dak Prescott faces ARI, 3rd most generous to QBs.
Drake Maye faces MIA, 7th most generous to QBs.

Who wins a straight-up trade?

Drake Maye carries the higher trade value — 2,957 against 1,782 (a 40% gap). In a one-for-one, the side receiving Drake Maye gets the most. Momentum: Dak Prescott +337 and Drake Maye +1777 over the last 30 days.

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

More QB decisions

Dak Prescott or Caleb Williams?Dak Prescott or Trevor Lawrence?Dak Prescott or Brock Purdy?Drake Maye or Josh Allen?Drake Maye or Joe Burrow?Drake Maye or Lamar Jackson?

All numbers are the 2026 season, refreshed nightly.