Who Should I Start? Aidan O'Connell or Joe Milton III

Sunday, January 5, 9:55 PM

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell completed 24 of 34 pass attempts for 214 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception during Sunday's Week 18 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. He also rushed four times for an additional 13 yards on the ground. O'Connell has delivered modest production over the last three weeks, tallying four passing touchdowns and one turnover during that span. He has benefitted from the breakout seasons of both Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers, but his production might not be enough to deter Vegas from selecting a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Purdue product finished this year with a 63.6 percent completion rate, eight touchdowns, and six turnovers through parts of nine games. Dynasty managers should hold O'Connell on their rosters for now, as he'll be hard to sell but is a little too valuable to drop in leagues with 14 teams or more. From a redraft perspective, he'll trend down as long as the Raiders add a notable quarterback especially if it's a rookie during the upcoming months.

Sunday, January 5, 7:50 PM

New England Patriots quarterback Joe Milton III completed 22 of his 29 pass attempts for 241 yards and one touchdown during Sunday's Week 18 win over the Buffalo Bills. He also rushed 10 times for 16 yards and an additional touchdown on the ground. Milton didn't take a sack or throw an interception in the victory, but he did lose a fumble on a botched hand-off with Antonio Gibson. The Patriots needed a loss to secure the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, and in order to get some extra film on Milton, they benched Drake Maye after the opening drive. Milton performed better than anyone could have imagined, completing each of his first 11 pass attempts. He totaled two touchdowns and showed phenomenal mobility. The win dropped New England from No. 1 to No. 4 in the draft order, but that's arguably a fair price to pay in exchange for the assurance that New England has two talented, young playmakers in its quarterback room entering 2025. Maye will remain the starter while Milton is likely headed for the backup role.