Who Should I Start? Lamar Jackson or C.J. Stroud

Saturday, September 26, 4:23 AM

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson looks to bounce back in Brazil against the Cowboys in Week 3 after the team's 17-24 home opener loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 2. Last week against the Saints, Jackson completed 21 of 31 passes for 235 yards and one touchdown, but he threw one interception and took three sacks. He also ran for 34 yards off four scrambles. The most troubling early trend this season is Lamar's lack of designed runs, which may be due to the change in offense that has more snaps under center compared to last season. Jackson has recorded just one designed run on eight rush attempts this season, setting aside kneels at the end of Week 1, which is a 12.5% designed run rate. This rate is almost 30 percentage points lower than his previous low of 41.4% set last season, according to Next Gen Stats. However, that does not mean Lamar is not using his legs to generate fantasy points. Over two games, Jackson recorded a 10.3% scramble run rate, the fifth-highest among qualified quarterbacks and his highest in a season since 2023, totaling 72 scramble rush yards, the third-most in the NFL. Dallas has also allowed a league-high 61 scramble yards on play-action dropbacks, 24 more than the next-closest team, which matters because Lamar's 37% play-action percentage ranks third among all qualified quarterbacks through two weeks. In addition, the Cowboys' defense has allowed quarterbacks to target a receiver with three or more yards of separation on 12 of 17 play-action attempts this season (70.6%), the second-highest rate in the NFL, also according to Next Gen Stats. However, the Ravens could be without wide receiver Zay Flowers (hamstring), who is questionable after logging one limited practice on Friday, again this week. Lamar and the new-look Ravens offense under Declan Doyle appear poised to exploit a seemingly glaring vulnerability in the Cowboys' defense, which could bode well for managers looking for a ceiling performance out of Lamar in Brazil. Despite field quality concerns and the overall health of his pass catchers, Jackson is once again a high-end QB1, and fantasy managers should continue to start him in every format.