Fantasy Football Who Should I Start? Bryce Young, Joe Burrow, Drake Maye, and More

Bryce Young started his career looking like a bust; there are no two ways about it. He averaged less than 6.0 yards per pass attempt over his first three seasons, essentially a full yard below average. Even when taking out his abysmal rookie year, that number only rises to 6.3.

His supporting cast was poor, but not too many effective quarterbacks start with multiple seasons worth of performance like that before growing to above-average status. Are we seeing Young buck that trend? He is fantasy QB2 through two weeks, and while there's a long way to go, it's impossible to ignore what he has done so far.

That has fantasy owners wondering if he will continue thriving, putting Young all over our start/sit tool here at FantasySP. Let's look at Young and four quarterbacks who he has been compared to often leading up to Week 3. Most stats are from NFL.com, and fantasy points and rankings are from FantasyPros.

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Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers @ Cleveland Browns

We talked about how he struggled the past three years already, but the turnaround is incredible so far: Young is averaging 8.9 yards per attempt with six touchdowns and one interception. He has only run two or three times per game in his career, but Young did score a TD on the ground in Week 1. Everything is clicking.

The Browns are right near the middle in both yards per pass attempt allowed and fantasy points given up to QBs. Trevor Lawrence had his way with Cleveland in Week 1, averaging 10.7 yards per pass with four touchdowns, but they were much better against Baker Mayfield last week, holding the Tampa Bay passer to just 182 yards on 5.4 per attempt. Their true level is somewhere in the middle, and that means Young has a chance to put up some numbers again if he really is greatly improved.

Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh Steelers

Burrow was drafted as a weekly fantasy starter, so it's tough to think about benching him after two weeks. He has been a very average quarterback through two games, looking slightly better than that in Week 1 and slightly worse in Week 2. His fantasy ranking is in that same range.

Based on what we've seen in 2026, Young would be an easy call. It's not that easy, of course, as Burrow was considered a top QB and Young a bench-able player heading into the season, but there's at least something to think about.

Pittsburgh has allowed the eighth-most yards per pass attempt but the fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. That disparity comes from volume, as the Steelers have faced just 44 pass attempts, seven less than any other team. The Falcons only let the overmatched Cooper Rush throw 22 times in Week 1, and Drake Maye matched those 22 attempts when New England had a double-digit lead for more than 30 minutes in Week 2.

Verdict: Start Joe Burrow over Bryce Young. This is much closer than you'd think just from name recognition. Neither the Browns nor Steelers are top-line defenses, so it's about the quarterback more than anything. Young has been much better this season, but based on everything we know, I feel safer with Burrow for the time being.

Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New England Patriots

We mentioned above that Lawrence had a big Week 1, but he struggled a bit last week against Denver, going for 189 yards on 6.5 per attempt with no scores and an interception. Lawrence had his best fantasy season last year, but that came from scoring nine rushing touchdowns, as his passing stats were right in line with his career norms. That production on the ground hasn't shown up this year, as Lawrence has just four attempts for nine yards.

The Patriots have had matchups in their favor, facing Seattle's backup QB Drew Lock then an aged and ineffective Aaron Rodgers, but they have succeeded in that time, allowing the fifth-fewest yards per pass attempt and the second-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. We're likely to see New England sport an above-average defense all season; they're about to get a chance to prove it.

Verdict: Start Bryce Young over Trevor Lawrence. The former has the better matchup and has looked better overall, though Lawrence excelled in Week 1. Without that rushing production he had last year, though, Lawrence is just a middling fantasy player, best deployed in the right matchups.

Drake Maye, New England Patriots @ Jacksonville Jaguars

Let's jump to the other side of that Pats/Jags matchup and look at Maye, a player who broke out in his second season to become a real MVP candidate last year. Maye has very average numbers through two weeks, throwing for 193 yards per game on 7.0 per attempt. His fantasy scores have been hurt by throwing for just one touchdown with four interceptions. His 32 rushing yards per game are in line with his career numbers, though Maye hasn't found the end zone, lowering the fantasy impact a bit.

Jacksonville has given up the second-most yards per pass attempt but the 12th-fewest fantasy points to QBs. Like with Pittsburgh, the Jags see that difference because they are tied for the fourth-fewest pass attempts faced on defense, letting volume dictate their fantasy performance. We won't get a real idea of their true level for a few weeks, but it seems like the Jaguars are beatable based on what we've seen so far.

Verdict: Start Drake Maye over Bryce Young. Maye was drafted as a weekly starter, and though he hasn't been great so far, he has a bigger ceiling on any given week because he is a runner. This is another close one, but I'll slightly favor Maye, though you're not crazy to consider Young.

Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams @ Denver Broncos

Denver was one of the best defensive teams last season, and they rate better than average in both yards per pass attempt allowed and fantasy points given up to QBs. While they have been beaten on the ground often, the Broncos are still strong against the pass.

Stafford was the MVP last year and finished as fantasy QB3. While he has still been efficient, Stafford is on pace for over 600 fewer yards and 12 fewer touchdowns than he had in 2025. Being that he doesn't run, Stafford has a bit of a ceiling when he isn't putting up MVP numbers, though as last week showed, he can still find plenty of success (327 yards and four touchdowns against the Giants).

Verdict: Start Bryce Young over Matthew Stafford. I still like Stafford's upside on the right weeks, but he struggled mightily in Week 1, so it hasn't been all roses this year. With a tougher matchup and Puka Nacua out for the second straight game, there's a lower ceiling for the reigning MVP.