Lamar Jackson vs Patrick Mahomes: Who Should You Start?
Two quarterbacks who will land on plenty of the same rosters in 2026. Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens) finished the 2025 season averaging 17.1 fantasy points per game in 13 games. Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs) came in at 21.2 PPG over 14 games. The gap is real but not insurmountable with the right matchup.
Patrick Mahomes carries a 4.1-point PPG advantage from the 2025 season. That baseline matters, but it is one input among several. Matchup difficulty, scoring trends, and injury reports move the needle week to week, which is why the best answer changes depending on when you are asking.
Patrick Mahomes offers meaningful rushing upside with 422 yards on the ground in 2025, which separates his floor from a pocket passer like Lamar Jackson (2549 passing yards, 21 touchdowns). In games where the passing matchup looks ugly, that rushing production can be the entire difference on a start/sit call.
Lamar Jackson has his bye in Week 14, and Patrick Mahomes rests in Week 6. Managers rostering both need waiver wire depth at quarterback for those two weeks, and that is exactly the kind of planning DraftCall's matchup engine surfaces automatically so you are not scrambling on a Sunday morning.
