Who Should I Start? Aaron Rodgers or Joe Flacco

Wednesday, June 11, 5:27 PM

Theoretically, The Athletic's Mike DeFabo writes that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers won't have as much pressure to win games with his right arm alone on a team that has the league's highest-paid defense and features a run-heavy offense that will limit his exposure. Pittsburgh pretty much did the same last year with Russell Wilson, and although they made the playoffs, they scored just 14.2 points per game in their final five games. There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical of the 41-year-old signal-caller, who now lacks mobility after tearing his Achilles in 2023. Rodgers was the NFL's worst QB against the blitz in 2024 and has thrown double-digit interceptions in his last two full seasons. His completion percentage (63%) was the fourth-lowest of any season in which he played at least 16 games. In a run-first offense, Rodgers will be a low-end QB2 in fantasy with minimal upside.

Friday, May 30, 10:54 PM

While the Cleveland Browns haven't made any announcements on their quarterback competition, The Athletic's Zac Jackson writes that 18-year veteran Joe Flacco should be well ahead of rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, and he's also probably ahead of Kenny Pickett. Flacco throws the ball better than the others in a practice setting, and his overall experience makes him the clear favorite to win the job. It's possible that Pickett will outplay Flacco in the coming months, though. Flacco and Pickett alternated turns with the No. 1 offense in practice at OTAs on Wednesday, with Gabriel out-repping Sanders in the second OTA practice. Jackson thinks it's almost a certainty that the QB battle is between Flacco and Pickett. Although Flacco had a nice little run with Cleveland at the end of 2023, he'll be a low-end QB2 option in two-QB fantasy leagues if he wins the starting gig over Pickett this year.