Who Should I Start? Aaron Rodgers or Patrick Mahomes

Friday, February 13, 11:19 AM

ESPN's Brooke Pryor reports that she gets the sense that Pittsburgh Steelers impending free-agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers is "more likely to come back than not" in 2026. The Steelers probably want an answer sooner rather than later from Rodgers, especially with the scouting combine coming up in a few weeks. The difference between this year and last year is that Pittsburgh has QB Will Howard on the roster after they drafted him in the sixth round in 2025. Mason Rudolph is also in the QB room, but new head coach Mike McCarthy is apparently a big fan of Howard and laid out plans to develop the young QB during his head-coaching interview. Rodgers led Pittsburgh to the playoffs and threw for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns, and seven interceptions in 16 regular-season games in his first year with the team, but he finished as the QB19 in fantasy in what was an underwhelming offense. If Rodgers returns to the Steel City for a 22nd NFL season, he'll be a low-end QB2 again with a limited ceiling for fantasy purposes.

Thursday, February 12, 1:27 PM

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (knee) is no longer a top-tier fantasy option, primarily due to injury uncertainty. Mahomes tore his ACL and LCL in Week 15, and it's currently unclear whether he'll be ready for the start of the 2026 regular season. He's still one of the most talented players in NFL history, but without a clear timeline, fantasy managers shouldn't expect to rely on him as their starting quarterback in Week 1. We also can't ignore the fact that his fantasy production has gone backward. He went from the overall QB1 in 2022 to QB8 in 2023, QB11 in 2024, and QB11 in his shortened 2025 campaign. He has thrown at least 11 interceptions in each of his last five seasons, and he's been held to 27 or fewer touchdowns every year since 2022, when he threw for 41. Josh Allen has taken over as the consensus QB1 in fantasy football, but players like Lamar Jackson, Drake Maye, and Joe Burrow have also become more appealing to managers than Mahomes. Of course, that could change if the Chiefs add a superstar receiver this offseason, and it also wouldn't hurt if tight end Travis Kelce bounces back following a down year.