Who Should I Start? Jared Goff or Michael Penix Jr.

Wednesday, January 28, 5:09 PM

Many fantasy managers were worried about Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff going into the 2025 season since he'd be without offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. The Lions took a slight step back offensively with Johnson gone and failed to make the playoffs, but it was still a successful fantasy campaign for Goff, who completed 68% of his passes for 4,564 yards, 34 touchdowns, and only eight interceptions in 17 starts. It was Goff's fourth straight season playing in all 17 games and his fourth straight year with over 4,000 passing yards. The 31-year-old veteran signal-caller has had at least 30 touchdown passes in each of the last three years and in four of his 10 NFL seasons. Goff was the QB6 in fantasy scoring, and should have QB1 upside again in 2026 with Drew Petzing as the new OC. Petzing had a pass-happy approach in Arizona and could be a great fit for Goff.

Thursday, January 29, 2:17 PM

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (knee), who had ACL reconstruction on his left knee on Nov. 25, is hoping that he'll be ready for Week 1 of the 2026 regular season this fall, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta-Journal Consitution. "I've been doing great," Penix said. "Each and every day, just trying to get better. I feel like my confidence has been building." The 25-year-old signal-caller was given a nine- to 12-month timetable at the time of his surgery, the third ACL surgery of his career. There's optimism right now from Penix and the Falcons, but Penix's availability for the start of next season is still very much up in the air. It sounds like new head coach Kevin Stefanski is fully committed to Penix as the team's starter going forward, but his lengthy injury history -- he also suffered two season-ending shoulder injuries in college -- makes him an extremely volatile dynasty asset in fantasy football. In his 14 games (12 starts) in his first two NFL seasons, Penix has completed only 59.6% of his passes for 2,757 yards with 12 TDs and six interceptions.