Who Should I Start? Trey Lance or Shedeur Sanders

Sunday, January 4, 10:32 AM

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Trey Lance will make his first start of the season during Sunday's Week 18 contest against the Denver Broncos. The former first-round pick is starting in place of Justin Herbert (coach's decision) as the Chargers look to keep their No. 1 quarterback healthy for the upcoming playoff stretch. Turning to Lance puts Los Angeles as a 14-point underdog, and they could still finish anywhere between the No. 5 and No. 7 seed in the AFC. The young quarterback has flashed upside in the past, and perhaps the Chargers still hope that he can live up to his first-round draft stock. However, the odds are stacked against him this week. For starters, the Broncos have an elite defense anchored by Patrick Surtain II and Nik Bonitto. Denver has allowed the fourth-fewest passing yards and eighth-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks in 2025. Furthermore, Lance is playing behind an offensive line that PFF ranked second-worst heading into Week 18. Every Chargers offensive lineman finished with a PFF grade below 70 last week. This is not the right time to start Lance in fantasy football. Managers should avoid him in all leagues.

Monday, January 5, 1:09 PM

The Cleveland Browns liked what they saw from rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders in his first year in the NFL, but they also acknowledged that he has plenty to work on going into 2026, according to Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN. "He's still very much a work in progress, like many people," general manager Andrew Berry said. The 23-year-old fifth-rounder didn't make his NFL debut until Week 11 after fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel suffered a concussion. Sanders took over as the starter, though, and started the final seven games for Cleveland. He had his ups and downs, completing 59.2% of his passes for 1,353 yards, seven touchdowns, and nine interceptions while running for 153 yards and another score. Sanders showed enough athleticism and arm strength to at least put himself in the competition for the starting gig going into next season, where he's expected to compete with Deshaun Watson (Achilles) and Gabriel.