Who Should I Start? Jordan Love or J.J. McCarthy

Thursday, August 14, 4:20 PM

The Athletic's Matt Schneidman reports that Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (thumb) is wearing a soft cast after having surgery to address a ligament injury in his left (non-throwing) thumb. Love is still expected to return to practice next week. Even if he were fully healthy, Love was not expected to play in the second preseason game this Saturday against the Indianapolis Colts. The 26-year-old will get back to practice next week and is fully expected to be ready for Week 1 of the 2025 regular season. Love missed two games due to injury in his second full season as the starter in 2024 and finished with 3,389 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, a slight step back from the previous campaign. The Packers' offense needs to stay healthy, but if Love ends up running more, a bounce-back season could be in store. Draft him as a low-end QB2 with upside this fall.

Thursday, August 14, 9:39 PM

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy had his "best practice of camp" on Thursday and impressed with both his consistency and accuracy, according to Alec Lewis of The Athletic. Lewis notes that McCarthy had a stretch of practice where he completed 13 straight passes and threw for six touchdowns. The 22-year-old former first-round pick is preparing for his first year as an NFL starter after missing his entire rookie season with a torn meniscus in his knee. McCarthy will likely experience some growing pains, but he has a lot of playmaking talent around him in Minnesota and an excellent play-calling head coach in Kevin O'Connell. He profiles as a mid-tier QB2 in fantasy, but he's got more upside than some of the other quarterbacks being drafted in his range.