Who Should I Start? Tua Tagovailoa or J.J. McCarthy

Thursday, June 18, 6:01 AM

With the Atlanta Falcons wrapping up the final session of mandatory minicamp on Wednesday, it was quarterback Tua Tagovailoa leading the first-team offense as the team worked on third-and-goal situations. Following his release from the Dolphins, Atlanta signed Tagovailoa to a one-year, $1.2 million deal, and as Michael Penix Jr. continues to work his way back from the ACL tear that ended his 2025 season, the seventh-year veteran has been given an early advantage in a battle expected to carry into training camp. The Falcons spent a first-round pick on Penix in the 2024 NFL Draft and face a critical decision about his fifth-year option following the 2026 season, so there is a belief that he'll be given every opportunity to claim the starting job once healthy, but new head coach Kevin Stefanski has long valued accuracy as one of the most important traits of the position. While Tagovailoa has completed exactly 68% of his passes since entering the league as a first-round pick in 2020, Penix ranked near the bottom of the league in on-target throw percentage in 2025. With a strong supporting cast of Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts, whoever claims the starting job could have fantasy viability throughout the year, and if that becomes Tagovailoa out of the gates, RotoBaller's QB30 could have early-season appeal as a streaming option.