Who Should I Start? Brock Purdy or Drake Maye

Friday, January 16, 3:24 PM

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was far from perfect in his team's Wild Card Weekend win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The 26-year-old completed 18 of 31 pass attempts for 262 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions. Dating back to the regular season, Purdy has now thrown an interception in four consecutive games. In the Divisional Round, San Francisco will travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks. Seattle completely shut Purdy down in the regular season finale for both teams, holding Purdy to 19 of 27 passing for 127 yards, zero touchdowns, and a pick. The Seahawks defense was dominant throughout the regular season, finishing first in the NFL in yards per pass attempt allowed (6.0) and tied for seventh in sacks (47). Making matters worse for Purdy, he'll be without one of his top receiving weapons in tight end George Kittle (Achilles), who suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon in the Wild Card Round. Given the matchup and San Francisco's depleted pass-catching corps, Purdy profiles as a quarterback for fantasy managers to avoid in the Divisional Round.

Wednesday, January 28, 6:05 PM

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (shoulder) was listed as a limited participant on the team's estimated injury report on Monday, according to the team's official website. Maye appeared to injure his right (throwing) shoulder in the AFC Championship game win over the Denver Broncos, but all signs point to him being fine to play in the Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, Feb. 8. Head coach Mike Vrabel downplayed the injury, and the 23-year-old second-year signal-caller will have an extra week to heal up. Maye, who is in the MVP conversation in just his second year in the NFL, has not been as good in his first three playoff games as he was during the regular season, when he threw for 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns, and eight picks in 17 games. His completion percentage is down from a league-best 72% to 55.8% in the playoffs, and he's also fumbled six times (three lost) and taken a league-high 15 sacks. Maye should be healthy enough to play on Super Sunday, but he'll be facing another difficult test against a strong Seahawks defense.