Who Should I Start? Patrick Mahomes or Desmond Ridder

Sunday, October 20, 9:12 PM

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed 16 of 27 pass attempts (59%) for 154 yards and zero touchdowns in the 28-18 win against the San Francisco 49ers. Mahomes threw two more interceptions in this contest, bringing his total to a league-leading eight interceptions despite already having his bye week. Mahomes found the endzone on a rushing touchdown against the Niners, but that was the only silver lining. Mahomes has been one of the worst draft picks at the quarterback position this season, and there is not much optimism that it will change since the Chiefs remain undefeated after six games. This game also marks his second straight game with zero passing touchdowns. Mahomes will look to right the ship against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 8. The Raiders rank 26th in fantasy points allowed to the quarterback position this season, so it will be an advantageous situation for the Chiefs quarterback. That said, Mahomes has not been good for fantasy, and benching him is reasonable at this point.

Monday, October 21, 8:16 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders signed quarterback Desmond Ridder off of the Arizona Cardinals' practice squad on Monday, according to sources. Ridder will give the Raiders extra QB depth after the team placed Aidan O'Connell (thumb) on Injured Reserve after he fractured his right thumb in the Week 7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. O'Connell is expected to miss four to six weeks with his injury. Ridder, the former third-round pick by the Atlanta Falcons in 2022 out of Cincinnati, did not see the field at all in Arizona and is coming off a 2023 campaign in Atlanta that saw him throw for 2,836 yards with 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 64.2% of his pass attempts. For now, he'll serve as Gardner Minshew II's backup with the Raiders. If he's forced into action, Ridder will be a desperation QB2, at best, in superflex formats.