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.

Friday, February 6, 3:02 PM

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (shoulder) practiced in full all week and has been cleared to play in Super Bowl LX on Sunday versus the Seattle Seahawks. Maye was listed as questionable at the end of last week after suffering a minor right-shoulder injury in the AFC Championship game against the Denver Broncos, but the Patriots were never concerned that it would affect him going into the Super Bowl. The 23-year-old second-year signal-caller out of North Carolina led the NFL with a 72% completion percentage in 17 regular-season games and finished as the QB3 in fantasy scoring, but he's completed only 55.8% of his passes for 533 yards, four touchdowns, and two picks in his first three playoff games. Maye has also fumbled six times (three lost) in the postseason. He'll need to be much better on Sunday against a Seattle defense that allowed the seventh-fewest passing TDs (20) during the regular season.