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

Tuesday, June 17, 12:07 PM

There are plenty of question marks surrounding Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the 10th overall pick last year, after he missed his rookie season in 2024 with a torn right meniscus in his knee. However, ESPN's Kevin Seifert writes that McCarthy's arm strength has been fine after it was a topic of discussion going into the 2024 draft. "He definitely has an arm," receiver Justin Jefferson said. "That's for sure. He can definitely zip it whenever he needs to." His arm has looked especially lively on throws down the middle of the field, and McCarthy is starting to learn to vary his throws after Jefferson noted last summer that the rookie tended to throw every ball the same way -- hard and straight. With no threats to the starting job under center, the 22-year-old is Minnesota's clear starting QB going into 2025 and has some of the best weapons in the league. He's a QB2 with upside in fantasy.

Saturday, July 26, 7:42 AM

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is showing signs of taking a step forward at the onset of his second season. NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe mentioned that he was told by a member of the Patriots staff that Maye has shown increased processing speed and has had a good start to camp. Maye should be helped by the team's offseason addition of Stefon Diggs, a player who gives him a true No. 1 receiver after the rookie had limited offensive weapons to throw to in 2024. If Maye does show improvement in his second year, it would lift all New England skill players in fantasy and real life. For now, Maye's sneaky rushing upside keeps him in the conversation as a solid QB2 in fantasy drafts.