Who Should I Start? Mason Rudolph or Michael Penix Jr.

Friday, August 22, 10:43 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph completed six of his eight pass attempts for 36 scoreless yards and an interception in Thursday night's 19-10 preseason win over the Carolina Panthers. Rudolph took the field for the team's first three offensive possessions and could not get much of anything going. The Steelers punted twice in the first quarter before Rudolph opened the second period with an ill-advised throw to Ke'Shawn Williams that Carolina picked off. Rudolph's brief showing was quickly outshined by teammate Skylar Thompson, who led Pittsburgh on three straight scoring drives. Nonetheless, the 30-year-old Rudolph should be expected to maintain QB2 duties heading into the regular season as the most experienced backup on the roster, especially if rookie Will Howard (finger) is placed on IR.

Saturday, November 8, 12:20 PM

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. appears to be rounding into form after a slow, inconsistent start to the season, now with a touchdown pass in four straight games and a 7:1 TD:INT over that span. While that's a positive, the 25-year-old is completing just 60.8 percent of his passes, which is the fourth-lowest mark in the NFL, only slightly better than the likes of Cam Ward (57.6 percent) and Dillon Gabriel (59.9 percent), so he can be hard to trust for fantasy. Week 10 brings a road matchup against the Colts in Berlin, Germany, a defense that is middle of the pack in terms of fantasy points allowed to opposing QBs, and that has allowed the fourth-most passing YPG in the NFL over the last three games (268.7). Penix has a lower completion percentage on the road (56.1 percent), but Indianapolis has been more forgiving on the road, allowing 24.5 points per game on the road compared to 16.6 PPG at home. They'll also be without pass-rushing DT DeForest Buckner, which should give Penix a bit more time to throw, and as 6.5-point underdogs, that's likely what he'll have to do. Even so, the left-handed QB shapes up as a mid-range QB2 in Week 10.