Who Should I Start? J.J. McCarthy or Drake Maye

Tuesday, January 13, 2:54 PM

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said he wants a competitive situation at quarterback going into next season, according to Alec Lewis of The Athletic. O'Connell said McCarthy "is going to be a major emphasis," but "the competition in that room will only enhance the entire team." The Vikings want McCarthy to seize the starting job, but he's going to have to earn it and play better than he did in 2026, and the Vikings are fully expected to add to their QB room to push McCarthy this offseason. The 22-year-old former first-round signal-caller missed his entire rookie season in 2024 due to a knee injury that required surgery. McCarthy missed time with multiple injuries in 2025 and struggled with turnovers and efficiency when he was on the field, completing 57.6% of his pass attempts for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in 10 starts. Fantasy managers will want to see improvement from the Michigan product before considering him as anything more than a low-end QB2 option with upside.

Friday, January 23, 8:29 PM

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is on the doorstep of his first Super Bowl appearance in just his second year in the league, but he will need to limit turnovers if he's going to lead his team to a victory on Sunday in the AFC Championship against the Denver Broncos. In his first two playoff games, Maye threw for 447 yards on 56 pass attempts for four touchdowns and two interceptions, but he also fumbled four times (lost two) in the Divisional Round win over the Houston Texans. The 23-year-old put himself in the MVP discussion during the regular season by leading the league in completion percentage (72%), yards per attempt (8.9), and QBR (77.1). Maye also finished as the QB3 in overall fantasy points in his sophomore campaign. He'll have his work cut out for him this Sunday in Denver, though, with the Broncos' defense allowing the seventh-fewest passing yards per game (187.2) and sixth-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing QBs during the regular season.