Brock Purdy vs Justin Herbert: Who Should You Start?
Brock Purdy and Justin Herbert are both viable fantasy quarterbacks heading into 2026, but their 2025 production tells two different stories. Brock Purdy averaged 20.8 PPG across 9 games with the San Francisco 49ers, while Justin Herbert posted 18.7 PPG in 16 appearances for the Los Angeles Chargers.
A 2.1-PPG gap gives Brock Purdy the edge on paper, but paper does not account for Thursday night matchups, weather games, or a star defender returning from injury. The real question is not who was better in 2025, but who is the better start this specific week.
Justin Herbert offers meaningful rushing upside with 498 yards on the ground in 2025, which separates his floor from a pocket passer like Brock Purdy (2167 passing yards, 20 touchdowns). In games where the passing matchup looks ugly, that rushing production can be the entire difference on a start/sit call.
One scheduling note: Brock Purdy is off Week 9 and Justin Herbert Week 5. If these two are on your roster, you will need a fill-in quarterback for both weeks. DraftCall flags bye conflicts so you can plan ahead rather than panic on waivers.
