Who Should I Start? Kyler Murray or C.J. Stroud

Monday, September 8, 7:50 PM

The Arizona Republic's Theo Mackie writes that the Arizona Cardinals "tweaked some of their pass-protection schematics in an attempt to open up more scrambling lanes" for quarterback Kyler Murray up the middle this year. In the 20-13 Week 1 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Murray went 21-for-29 for 163 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions while running the ball seven times for 38 yards. "I did think there were some high-leverage snaps in that game where he used his legs for our advantage and that's what you want to see," head coach Jonathan Gannon said. The 28-year-old ranked eighth among QBs in 2024 with 78 carries and finished fourth with 572 yards on the ground and five touchdowns. It sounds like Arizona might prefer Murray run the ball even more in 2025, which would only raise his ceiling and floor as a weekly low-end QB1 in fantasy.

Friday, September 5, 9:37 PM

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud opens the season in Los Angeles against the Rams on Sunday afternoon, as he looks to start a bounce-back season. He took a step backwards last season after throwing for 4,108 passing yards, 23 touchdowns, and five interceptions in 15 games as a rookie. He finished with 3,727 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in 17 games last year, while leading the Texans to a second straight AFC South title. He has a new Offensive Coordinator in Nick Caley, and the new system puts more responsibility on the quarterback at the line of scrimmage. Stroud is the QB16 this week against the Rams, who allowed the 11th-most fantasy points to quarterbacks last season. Stroud will be without Christian Kirk (hamstring), so he'll be working with an unproven group of receivers aside from his elite receiver option, Nico Collins. He's a strong QB2 with boom or bust upside in Week 1.