Who Should I Start? Patrick Mahomes or Justin Herbert

Thursday, January 15, 4:11 PM

Omar Ruiz of NFL Network reports that Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (knee) says his rehab from ACL and LCL tears in his knee is "going great." According to Ruiz, Mahomes stated that his goal is to be ready for Week 1 of the 2026 season, which doctors have said is possible, but there is still a long way to go. Mahomes underwent surgery in mid-December, so a Week 1 return would require less than nine months of recovery time. Across 14 games before getting injured, the 30-year-old completed 62.7% of his pass attempts for 3,587 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Mahomes also rushed for 422 yards and five scores, making 2025 the most productive rushing season of his career. His recovery progress will be one of the key storylines for fantasy managers to track throughout the offseason.

Tuesday, January 27, 4:11 PM

The Los Angeles Chargers fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman after another early playoff exit and hired former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel to take over. The Chargers need to get healthy on the offensive line first and foremost, but the move to McDaniel should be great news for the fantasy outlook of quarterback Justin Herbert in 2026. One of the first things that McDaniel hopes to do is to craft an offense that doesn't rely as much on Herbert's individual talents, such as scrambling and making miraculous plays outside of the pocket. "I think not relying too heavily on Justin's ability to do above and beyond, I think is critical to maximize those types of opportunities," McDaniel said. "That'll be one of the first things that we'll try to do is take a little off his plate so that he is free to do that when his greatness is required." Herbert went over 4,000 passing yards in each of his first three seasons, but he hasn't been able to do it the last three years. He finished as the QB10 in overall fantasy points in 2025. With McDaniel in the fold, Herbert should have more upside to reach his true ceiling.