Who Should I Start? Justin Fields or J.J. McCarthy

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.

Wednesday, May 7, 9:26 PM

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell didn't really acknowledge whether former first-round quarterback J.J. McCarthy (knee) will face competition for the starting job in 2025. "J.J. is going to be in a great position to assume and ascend in our organization," O'Connell said on The Rich Eisen Show. "But right now, we really don't have any feelings on competition as much as we've got an obligation as coaches to put our players in position to attack that competition phase." Sam Howell and Brett Rypien are the other options in the QB room. O'Connell did say that McCarthy is "owning it" this offseason and will get plenty of reps with the starters. The 22-year-old missed his entire rookie season due to a torn meniscus in his right knee, but he's fully expected to be ready for the start of 2025. O'Connell said he's seen a difference in McCarthy's footwork, rhythm, timing and cadence from a year ago. The Vikes like him a lot, so he's expected to be the starter in Week 1, where he'll be a low-end QB2 in fantasy with upside.