Who Should I Start? Patrick Mahomes or C.J. Stroud

Saturday, September 12, 11:42 AM

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was listed on the injury report this week with the same ACL injury that he has been rehabbing this offseason, but he was a full participant in practice all week. Mahomes is now off the injury report and ready to begin his 2026 season against the Denver Broncos on Monday. The Chiefs also listed wide receivers Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy on the injury report with knee and shoulder injuries, respectively. Still, both will be active and ready to catch passes from Mahomes. Mahomes will also have the benefit of leaning on newly acquired running back Kenneth Walker. Reports out of camp have said that the Chiefs are looking to get Walker involved in the passing game, which should give Mahomes a safe check-down option out of the backfield. The Chiefs quarterback will have to deal with a tough matchup in Week 1 since the Broncos defense is arguably the best unit in the league and the Chiefs offensive line is dealing with injuries, most notably a back injury that will force Josh Simmons to miss the game. Since Mahomes is returning from an ACL injury, it is reasonable to assume that his rushing output will be diminished at least to start the season. Given the difficulty of the matchup, the health of the O-line, and the health of his knee, it is hard to trust Mahomes in Week 1. Mahomes is ranked QB17 in our RotoBaller Week 1 rankings, meaning fantasy managers may want to look elsewhere for a quarterback this week.