Who Should I Start? Patrick Mahomes or Caleb Williams

Wednesday, December 17, 1:21 PM

Kansas City Chiefs head trainer Rick Burkholder said that quarterback Patrick Mahomes (knee) was operated on quickly to fix the LCL part of his ACL/LCL knee injury that he suffered in Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, according to Jesse Newell of The Athletic. Mahomes has started his rehab in Dallas this week and will continue through Thursday before returning to KC. The fact that the 30-year-old tore both his ACL and LCL will make his recovery more complicated, but reports suggest that Mahomes is "hellbent" on returning for the Week 1 season opener in 2026. For the final three weeks of the 2025 season, Gardner Minshew will run KC's offense, which is an obvious downgrade for all of the Chiefs' offensive skill players. Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl MVP, threw for 3,587 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in 14 games in 2025 in his ninth NFL season.

Wednesday, January 7, 9:21 AM

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams finished the 2025 regular season as the QB5 for the year under first-year head coach Ben Johsnon. He completed 330 of 568 (58%) for 3,942 yards and a 27:7 TD: INT ratio. From a fantasy standpoint, he also contributed 383 rushing yards and three touchdowns, giving him a solid rushing floor. Although there were some lower moments on the season where he scored 12 or fewer fantasy points in three of his 17 contests, for the most part, Williams was a solid fantasy option, and should continue to be so in the playoffs. The Bears take on division opponent, the Green Bay Packers, in round one, who struggled to stay healthy down the stretch and have a very beatable defense after losing Micah Parsons (knee) for the season. This will be Williams' first career playoff start, and the Bears are currently underdogs(+1) to the Packers at home, so there is some risk for Fantasy managers in playoff leagues. However, if the Bears do make a run, it will likely be because the second-year signal-caller is performing at an elite level, making him a solid fantasy option for the playoffs.