Who Should I Start? Patrick Mahomes or Christian Kirk

Wednesday, April 23, 3:09 PM

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes hit the NFL by storm early in his career with his deep-passing skills and explosive plays. However, the Chiefs' offense ranked 27th in 20-plus-yard plays in 2024. Since Tyreek Hill departed to Miami and Travis Kelce has taken a step back, its offense has not connected on splash plays as often. Heading into next season, Mahomes is aiming to incorporate big plays back into the offense. "We've had a lot of turnover in the receiving room, and it seems like the core group will be back in its entirety." Mahomes said." So the goal is to try to build on it and get even better and try to get back to some of the explosive passing plays that we've done in years past." With all-world speedster Xavier Worthy heading into Year 2 and a potential full season of Marquise Brown, the ceiling is high for Kansas City's passing attack in 2025. Mahomes has not been a fantasy football game-changer over the last two seasons, but a more dangerous offensive attack could put him back in the high-end QB1 range.

Wednesday, July 9, 3:34 PM

Houston Texans wide receiver Christian Kirk was dealt from the division rival Jacksonville Jaguars for a late-round NFL Draft pick this offseason. The 28-year-old had a fantastic first season with Jacksonville in 2022, but injuries and offensive woes limited his production in 2023 and 2024. Last year, he tallied just 27 receptions for 379 yards and one score in eight games while Brian Thomas Jr. took over the WR1 role. Now in Houston, he is seemingly competing with rookies Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel for the WR2 job behind Nico Collins. ESPN's DJ Bien-Aime believes Kirk might be the favorite to win that job. "The best way to step into the No. 2 or No. 3 role is building chemistry with CJ.. Stroud," Bien-Aime wrote. "And Kirk looked like a potential safety blanket for the third-year signal-caller." While this is promising for Kirk's fantasy prospects, the veteran has eclipsed 800 yards in just two of his seven NFL campaigns, and Houston's acquisitions of Higgins and Noel could suggest they were not comfortable with Kirk in the clear WR2 role. That said, his cost in drafts outside the top 50 WRs makes him an interesting dart throw in all formats.