Who Should I Start? Marcus Mariota or C.J. Stroud

Wednesday, December 10, 12:47 PM

Washington Commanders veteran quarterback Marcus Mariota will make his seventh start of the year in Week 15 against the division-rival New York Giants, according to The Washington Post's Tashan Reed. The Commanders have ruled out Jayden Daniels (elbow) after he aggravated his elbow injury in last week's blowout loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Daniels isn't dealing with a long-term injury, but with Washington's season essentially already over, the 32-year-old Mariota could end up starting the rest of the way for the Commanders. Although he doesn't offer a ton of fantasy football upside, Mariota has been pretty serviceable leading the team's offense in place of Daniels this year. He's completed 62.9% of his 194 pass attempts for 1,389 yards, nine TDs, and seven interceptions. Mariota averaged 186.6 passing yards and 30.8 rushing yards per game from Weeks 8-13. Consider him a midrange QB2 option in superflex leagues this weekend versus the G-Men.

Wednesday, December 10, 12:53 AM

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud has been solid in two games since returning from a three-game absence due to a concussion. Week 14 against the Kansas City Chiefs wasn't his cleanest performance statistically, as he completed just 48.4% of his passes, but he made plays for the Texans when he needed to. Before his head injury in Week 9 against Denver, the 24-year-old signal-caller was starting to get into a rhythm. In Weeks 4-8, Stroud completed 68.5% of his passes for 1,024 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions while adding 96 yards on 14 carries on the ground over four games. He averaged 21.1 fantasy points per game during that span, ranking as the QB9. Overall, the Texans' offense hasn't been efficient enough to support multiple reliable contributors in fantasy this season. Stroud profiles as a mid-range QB2 option in Week 15 against the Arizona Cardinals.