Fantasy Football Week 15 Quarterback Who Should I Start? Jaxson Dart, Patrick Mahomes, and More

While Jaxson Dart surely has Giants fans excited about the future, his prospects in fantasy football are just as bright. He has been a big-time performer when on the field, only slowed down by a concussion that caused him to miss a few games.

Because he wasn't the starter at the beginning of the year, Dart was virtually undrafted in fantasy leagues, meaning he was picked up in every league in which he is owned; some of those owners already had good starters before grabbing the New York rookie. Owners with both Dart and a top-line QB are scrambling to decide who to start with the Giants having a fantastic matchup.

Let's look at Dart and three star quarterbacks who he has been compared to often on the start/sit tool. We'll do a head-to-head quick-hit exercise to determine the best starter in each situation. Most stats are from NFL.com.

Use FantasySP's Who Should I Start? tool to compare players and help make your toughest lineup decisions each week!

Jaxson Dart, New York Giants vs. Washington Commanders

The matchup here is as good as could be: Washington has allowed the most yards per pass attempt and the sixth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. They haven't given up a lot of rushing yards to QBs, but mobile guys in Justin Herbert, Patrick Mahomes, and even Russell Wilson back in Week 1 with these same Giants all reached 30 yards on the ground.

Dart does a little of everything, and he's likely to again find success. His ceiling this week is truly the QB1 spot, and he has a high floor also due to his running. The only thing that can slow him down is injury, which seems like it could be an issue, but we just need him to get through one game, not a full season.

The three guys below have all been weekly starters in the recent past and could be argued as such right now, so it makes for some tough decisions for those owners blessed enough to have a great dilemma.

Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles vs. Las Vegas Raiders

There are questions around both Hurts and the Eagles, as they have lost three straight games, making it unlikely that they can grab the top seed and giving the Cowboys life in the NFC East race. Philadelphia is still in good position to win the division, but no one feels good about their status as a contender right now.

Hurts ranks as QB6 despite inconsistency. He is averaging 211.8 passing yards per game on 7.2 per attempt with 19 touchdowns and six interceptions. Hurts is on pace for 440 rushing yards and 10 TDs on the ground; that's a big part of his fantasy success, but those would also be his lowest numbers since his rookie season of 2020, when he didn't play much.

Philly should be able to get back on track by beating the hapless Raiders, but Vegas is actually respectable against the pass, sitting right in the middle in both yards per pass attempt allowed and fantasy points given up to quarterbacks. The Raiders also don't allow much rushing to QBs, giving up just 12.8 yards per game with four touchdowns in 13 games.

There's always a high ceiling with Hurts, especially when he finds the end zone with his legs, but the matchup is a little tougher here. Hurts is still a must-start player assuming you don't have a secondary option like Dart.

Advice: Start Jaxson Dart over Jalen Hurts. Again, Hurts is generally a high-floor player and is a good option this week, but Dart has even more upside. Hurts is safer, but Dart has the higher ceiling.

Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens @ Cincinnati Bengals

As recently as last year, there wouldn't be a question of starting anyone over Jackson. On top of missing games with injury this year, though, Jackson also hasn't been his usual self when on the field.

He is averaging 206 passing yards per game (on a very efficient 7.9 per attempt) with 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. Jackson's rushing is down, the biggest thing hurting his fantasy performance. He is still averaging 30 yards per game, but Jackson was over 50 per game each of the past two seasons, and he has only found the end zone twice.

His matchup here is phenomenal, as the Bengals have allowed the second-most yards per pass attempt and third-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. If there's a better matchup than Washington, it's Cincinnati (or Dallas…or Tampa Bay).

Advice: This is an extremely tough one. Given Jackson's ceiling, a matchup this good gives him the same QB1 upside that Dart has. He just hasn't been himself, though, so I'm leaning toward the rookie and will say to start Jaxson Dart over Lamar Jackson.

Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers

Mahomes just had one of the worst games you will ever see him play against the Texans last week: 160 passing yards on 4.8 per attempt with no touchdowns and three interceptions. He helped himself with 59 rushing yards, but Mahomes finished with single-digit fantasy points and a QB25 ranking.

The matchup is again tough in this one, as the Chargers have allowed the fifth-fewest yards per pass attempt and the second-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. When these teams played in Week 1, Mahomes had 258 passing yards and a touchdown while running for 57 yards and another score.

Mahomes has been great, still ranking as QB2, but this has the makings of a slower game. He could build some volume and surely won't end up as lowly as in the Houston game, but Mahomes has a decent chance of finishing outside of the fantasy starters again.

Advice: Start Jaxson Dart over Patrick Mahomes. The matchup is so far in Dart's favor that his high-level fantasy play makes him the better option here.