Who Should I Start? Justin Fields or C.J. Stroud

Wednesday, May 21, 2:28 PM

New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields was "late on throws" during Wednesday's practice session, according to team reporter Nick Faria. While early offseason practice reports should be taken with a grain of salt, this is not a promising sign, as Fields has struggled with accuracy and processing during his young NFL career. In 50 career games, Fields has completed just over 61% of his passing attempts for 7,780 yards, 45 touchdowns, and 31 interceptions. His inability to develop into a high-level passer ultimately caused the Chicago Bears to move on from him, and he was benched for Russell Wilson early last season with the Steelers. That said, Fields is one of just three quarterbacks (Lamar Jackson, Michael Vick) in NFL history to rack up 1,000 rushing yards in a single season, so he could be a value at his QB2 cost in fantasy drafts. As long as Fields remains the starter in New York, his rushing floor and ceiling will keep him on the fantasy radar and in contention for a QB1 finish. At the same time, New York's pass-catching group is weak behind Garrett Wilson, and Fields could limit the overall ceiling of the passing attack.

Monday, April 21, 7:07 PM

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud said he'll be "taking full ownership, running the show" in new offensive coordinator Nick Calley's system and appreciates how Calley is already putting trust in him. Stroud didn't look at all like a rookie in 2023 under previous offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, but he came back down to Earth a bit in 2024 in his sophomore campaign and finished as the QB17 in fantasy while throwing for 3,727 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 17 regular-season games. Protection was the biggest issue, as the former second overall pick took a whopping 52 sacks in 2024 after being sacked 38 times in 15 regular-season games as a rookie. Stroud could be more effective again with more control of the offense, particularly before the snap, leaving him as a fine midrange QB1 bounce-back target in fantasy.