Who Should I Start? Mac Jones or Bryce Young

Friday, May 3, 2:28 PM

Unsurprisingly, the Jacksonville Jaguars didn't pick up the fifth-year option on new quarterback Mac Jones, who the team acquired in a trade with the New England Patriots this offseason. Jones was New England's first-round pick in 2021 but failed to make an impact as their starter under center. He went to the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2021 but was merely a replacement player. Jones started all 42 games that he played for the Patriots, but the team went 4-13 in 2023 and Jones found himself on the bench for the final six games. The 25-year-old from Alabama regressed in each of his three seasons in Boston, but it didn't help that the Patriots were constantly bringing in new offensive coaches during his time there. Now in Jacksonville, Jones will operate as the clear backup to Trevor Lawrence in 2024.

Monday, May 20, 9:24 PM

Carolina Panthers second-year quarterback Bryce Young, who looked lost in his rookie campaign in 2023, has impressed head coach Dave Canales at offseason workouts. Canales loves the way Young has picked up an offense that has helped Baker Mayfield, Russell Wilson and Geno Smith to career-best seasons. "He's doing fantastic with it," Canales said Monday after the first full day of voluntary workouts. "So, for us the formations are pretty vanilla so we can just teach the concept we want out of each route, the depth, the footwork we want." Young said having just Canales' voice in his ear has been "super important" after a rough rookie season in which he ranked 29th out of 30 QBs in total QBR (33.4). It will be hard for Young to be much worse in his sophomore season in 2024, and the Panthers also added some playmakers around him via the draft and trade market, but he'll still merely be a low-end QB2 with upside in fantasy leagues.