Who Should I Start? J.J. McCarthy or Shedeur Sanders


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
1.5 1.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

J.J. McCarthy News

J.J. McCarthy Facing Multi-Week Absence With Ankle Injury

Monday, August 31, 9:56 AM

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (ankle) is expected to miss multiple weeks, according to Adam Schefter. McCarthy suffered the injury during Minnesota's Aug. 22 preseason game against Baltimore and was unable to recover in time for Friday's finale against Denver. The Vikings had hoped to give him the entire first half in that game, but Carson Wentz started instead. Minnesota initially considered McCarthy day-to-day, making Schefter's new timetable a notable change. The 2024 first-round pick still made the Vikings' initial 53-man roster alongside Kyler Murray, Wentz and Max Brosmer. Murray was already named the starter earlier this month, so McCarthy's absence does not change Minnesota's QB1 situation. McCarthy started 10 games last season, throwing for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while adding 181 rushing yards and four scores. His injury does leave Wentz and Brosmer as Minnesota's healthy options behind Murray for the opening weeks.


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
8.6 8.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0

Shedeur Sanders News

Shedeur Sanders to Begin His Second Season as Browns' Backup

Monday, August 24, 6:27 AM

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders famously fell to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but he found the field for seven starts as a rookie and was eventually named a Pro Bowl alternate. He spent his second training camp in a battle with veteran Deshaun Watson, and on Monday, head coach Todd Monken named Watson as the starter, with NFL Insider Jordan Schultz reporting that Sanders will serve as his backup. Sanders looked sharp to start Saturday's preseason game against the Bills, but threw a late interception with the inconsistency that has plagued him throughout camp creeping into a live game scenario. While Watson did not perform any better on Saturday, completing only 41.7% of his passes and throwing an interception of his own, he showed enough throughout camp to win a battle with no obvious separator. Sanders has been drafted as the consensus QB29 throughout fantasy draft season, but Monday's news is certain to push him off of draft boards.


J.J. McCarthy vs. Shedeur Sanders

Still trying to decide between McCarthy and Sanders? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that J.J. McCarthy is projected to score 1.5 points this week while Shedeur Sanders is projected to score 8.6 points.