Who Should I Start? Malik Willis or Caleb Williams

Thursday, January 9, 5:51 PM

Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Malik Willis (thumb) returned to a full practice session on Thursday after he was limited on Wednesday. Jordan Love (elbow) was also limited on Wednesday and a full-go on Thursday, so both signal-callers should be ready to roll for the wild-card playoff game on Sunday in Philadelphia against the Eagles. Willis is dealing with a right-thumb injury that he apparently picked up on Sunday when he came on in relief of Love in the loss to the division-rival Chicago Bears in the Week 18 regular-season finale. The 25-year-old made two starts earlier this year when Love was sidelined with an injury and has appeared in seven games total, going 40-for-54 for 550 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Willis has been serviceable in limited duty for the Packers but won't carry any fantasy value into the postseason with Love looking good to go.

Tuesday, January 21, 1:29 PM

The Athletic's Dan Pompei believes that new Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson will likely empower quarterback Caleb Williams heading into his second year in the NFL after an up-and-down rookie campaign. Johnson gave QB Jared Goff authority with protection adjustments that not all signal-callers have while serving as the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator, in addition to eliminating plays that Goff didn't like. Johnson was also a big proponent of going for it on fourth down, so the Bears offense should be much more aggressive under Williams in 2025. It's the main reason why Johnson was Chicago's top pick to be their next head coach. Despite plenty of weapons on offense in 2024, Williams was one of the worst downfield passers in his rookie season and had a 62.5% completion percentage to finish as the QB16 in fantasy. The addition of Johnson will surely make Williams a popular breakout candidate in 2025.