Who Should I Start? Kenny Pickett or Bryce Young

Friday, January 10, 6:32 PM

Philadelphia Eagles backup quarterback Kenny Pickett (ribs) was limited in practice all week but was removed from the final injury report on Friday and will be available for Sunday's wild-card matchup against the visiting Green Bay Packers. Jalen Hurts (concussion, finger) was also cleared from the league's concussion protocol after he missed the final two games of the regular season, so Pickett will be back as Hurts' backup this weekend. Obviously, Pickett won't have any fantasy value whatsoever in the playoffs unless Hurts is injured again. The 26-year-old former Pittsburgh Steelers QB suffered broken ribs in Week 16's loss to the division-rival Washington Commanders and was pulled from his start in the Week 17 blowout win over the division-rival Dallas Cowboys before not playing in Week 18. In his five games (one start) in 2024, Pickett went 25-for-42 with 291 yards, two TDs and one interception.

Sunday, January 5, 4:59 PM

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young went 25-for-34 with 251 yards and three scores during their overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons. He added 24 yards and two touchdowns on five rushing attempts. This was his best performance of his young NFL career. After having a quiet first quarter, Young was able to punch in a five-yard score with his legs and threw a 33-yard TD pass to Miles Sanders in the second frame. In the third quarter, he found tight end Tommy Tremble and wide receiver David Moore on a 21-yard and nine-yard TD pass respectively. Then in the fourth quarter, Young tallied his second rushing score of the afternoon, this time from ten yards out. The former first-overall pick would then lead the Panthers to a game-winning drive in overtime which was capped off by a Miles Sanders TD run. Despite his struggles last season and at the start of this season, Young has begun to turn the corner. During Weeks 12 through 17, Young averaged a solid 22.0 PPR points per game and will carry some solid momentum into the offseason.