Who Should I Start? Joe Burrow or C.J. Stroud

Monday, July 22, 1:07 PM

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor told the local media on Monday that quarterback Joe Burrow (wrist) has been fully cleared for contact at training camp. Burrow made only 10 starts in his fourth NFL season in 2023 due to a right-wrist injury that required season-ending surgery. The 27-year-old is now a full-go for camp and the preseason and should be 100 percent for the start of the 2024 regular season this fall. As long as the first overall pick out of LSU in 2020 can stay on the field, he should be able to bounce back, although his injury history early in his career makes him a risk/reward midrange QB1 target in upcoming fantasy drafts. Burrow averaged a weak 6.50 yards per attempt in 2023, but he should have enough volume to give him a high fantasy ceiling in 2024. RotoBaller has Burrow ranked as the No. 7 fantasy QB.

Thursday, July 18, 2:03 PM

Houston Texans second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud, who won Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2023, said he thinks there are "a ton of things" he can do better in his second year in the NFL, starting with "owning the offense more" than he did a year ago. Stroud also hopes to improve his footwork in Year 2 and focused on his desire for the team to put more "on my plate" in terms of directing the offense. "I want to definitely attack down the field more this year and press guys back, but also take what the defense gives me," Stroud said. "If it's a boring play, stick with the boring stuff and just be efficient with that. Those are all things I can get better at." Fantasy managers shouldn't consider the 22-year-old to be a high-end QB1 just yet, but he's no doubt going to be a popular midrange QB1 target after the phenomenal rookie season he had.