Who Should I Start? Michael Penix Jr. or Cam Ward

Sunday, January 5, 5:07 PM

Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. went 21-for-38 with 312 yards, two passing scores and an interception during their overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers. Penix added five yards and score on his lone carry. After averaging just 212.5 passing yards during the first two games of his career, Penix enjoyed a strong finish to the 2024 campaign, despite falling just short to the Panthers. The Washington product leaned on his top wideout Drake London as he threw to him 18 times. London also brought in both his touchdown passes and finished the day with 187 receiving yards. The 24-year-old has tallied four total touchdowns over his first three NFL games but sits with a 1-2 record, with both of his losses coming in overtime. Fantasy managers should expect Penix to be in the driver's seat to open as the team's starting QB in 2025.

Tuesday, May 13, 2:53 PM

The Tennessee Titans are working to make rookie quarterback Cam Ward as comfortable as possible in his new NFL offense, according to ESPN's Turron Davenport. Head coach Brian Callahan and company are integrating passing concepts from Miami's offense last season to help expedite the transition from college to the pros for its No. 1 overall pick. "We have it all broken down and put it all in our terminology," Callahan said. "We try to teach our system the way we run it, and then we take input from Cam." The team hopes to replicate the early success of CJ Stroud in 2023 and Jayden Daniels in 2024, and Ward has made a habit of having strong first years in new systems. The Texas native transitioned from a wing-T offense in high school to an air raid scheme as a freshman at Incarnate Word. He then had two fantastic years at Washington State before becoming a Heisman contender in just one season at Miami. While Ward appears to be pro-ready, it's still most common for rookie quarterbacks to have a healthy amount of ups and downs. Additionally, the Titans' pass-catching group, led by Calvin Ridley, is one of the worst in the NFL, so fantasy football expectations for Ward should be tempered in Year 1.