Who Should I Start? Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen

Thursday, February 12, 1:27 PM

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (knee) is no longer a top-tier fantasy option, primarily due to injury uncertainty. Mahomes tore his ACL and LCL in Week 15, and it's currently unclear whether he'll be ready for the start of the 2026 regular season. He's still one of the most talented players in NFL history, but without a clear timeline, fantasy managers shouldn't expect to rely on him as their starting quarterback in Week 1. We also can't ignore the fact that his fantasy production has gone backward. He went from the overall QB1 in 2022 to QB8 in 2023, QB11 in 2024, and QB11 in his shortened 2025 campaign. He has thrown at least 11 interceptions in each of his last five seasons, and he's been held to 27 or fewer touchdowns every year since 2022, when he threw for 41. Josh Allen has taken over as the consensus QB1 in fantasy football, but players like Lamar Jackson, Drake Maye, and Joe Burrow have also become more appealing to managers than Mahomes. Of course, that could change if the Chiefs add a superstar receiver this offseason, and it also wouldn't hurt if tight end Travis Kelce bounces back following a down year.

Thursday, January 29, 1:47 PM

Updating a previous report, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (foot) confirmed on Thursday at a press conference that he had surgery on a broken bone (fifth metatarsal) in his right foot, according to Cameron Wolfe of the NFL Network. Doctors took out his broken bone and cleaned it up. Allen suffered the injury to his foot in the Week 16 win over the Cleveland Browns on Dec. 21, but he didn't miss any time after that, although he did acknowledge that it wasn't ideal and was painful during the week. The 29-year-old former MVP was on crutches and wearing a walking boot on Thursday, but he's expected to be healed up in time for organized team activities this spring. Allen surely wasn't 100% the rest of the way, but he still ran the ball 23 times for 99 yards and two touchdowns in two postseason games. Despite having offseason foot surgery, Allen should still be considered the top fantasy QB going into his ninth NFL season in 2026.