Jayden Daniels vs Patrick Mahomes: Who Should You Start?
If you are choosing between Jayden Daniels and Patrick Mahomes for your lineup, you are not alone. Jayden Daniels finished the 2025 season at 16.3 PPG for the Washington Commanders (7 games), and Patrick Mahomes averaged 20.4 for the Kansas City Chiefs (14 games).
That 4.1-point weekly advantage for Patrick Mahomes is meaningful but not automatic. Fantasy football is a week-to-week sport, and the answer to "who should I start" often changes based on opponent, recent form, and game environment. Season averages set the baseline; weekly context makes the call.
Patrick Mahomes offers meaningful rushing upside with 422 yards on the ground in 2025, which separates his floor from a pocket passer like Jayden Daniels (1262 passing yards, 8 touchdowns). In games where the passing matchup looks ugly, that rushing production can be the entire difference on a start/sit call.
Jayden Daniels has his bye in Week 12, and Patrick Mahomes rests in Week 10. 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.
