Who Should I Start? Lamar Jackson or J.J. McCarthy

Thursday, July 17, 7:17 PM

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson finished the 2024 season with career-highs in passing yards (4,172), completions (316) and touchdown passes (41) while throwing only four interceptions on 474 attempts. He added 915 yards on the ground and passed Michael Vick for all-time rushing yards by a QB. Jackson is scary good as a passer and a runner, which is why he'll be one of the first QBs taken in fantasy drafts in the early rounds. BaltimoreRavens.com's Clifton Brown writes that Jackson is set up for even more success in 2025 going into his third season with Todd Monken running the offense. Baltimore became the first team in NFL history with 40 passing TDs and 20 rushing TDs in the same year in 2024. They were also the first team to throw for at least 4,000 yards and rush for at least 3,000. There's the potential for Jackson to take his game to yet another level.

Tuesday, June 17, 12:07 PM

There are plenty of question marks surrounding Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the 10th overall pick last year, after he missed his rookie season in 2024 with a torn right meniscus in his knee. However, ESPN's Kevin Seifert writes that McCarthy's arm strength has been fine after it was a topic of discussion going into the 2024 draft. "He definitely has an arm," receiver Justin Jefferson said. "That's for sure. He can definitely zip it whenever he needs to." His arm has looked especially lively on throws down the middle of the field, and McCarthy is starting to learn to vary his throws after Jefferson noted last summer that the rookie tended to throw every ball the same way -- hard and straight. With no threats to the starting job under center, the 22-year-old is Minnesota's clear starting QB going into 2025 and has some of the best weapons in the league. He's a QB2 with upside in fantasy.