Kyler Murray or Justin Fields Week 2 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Fantasy Football projection for QBs explored

For a pair of young quarterbacks with supposedly bright futures, Kyler Murray and Justin Fields have notoriously underwhelmed in their careers. Each man has made the playoffs just once in his career, and one of them did not even factor significantly into his first playoff appearance.

But 2025 looks to be different. Coming off a near-playoff berth in 2024, Murray looks to translate it to a return. Meanwhile, Fields is looking to prove that he can verifiably lead a team to the playoffs. Who goes closer to that goal in Week 2?

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Kyler Murray vs. Justin Fields Week 2 fantasy football preview

Kyler Murray

Arizona Cardinals v New Orleans Saints - Source: Getty

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After two years in the bottom of the NFC West, Murray and the Arizona Cardinals managed to pull themselves back up in 2024 thanks to some key pieces - James Conner, Trey McBride, and Marvin Harrison Jr. While they finished 8-9 and out of the playoffs, it was a major improvement from 4-13.

That led to optimism for 2025, and they began the season well, defeating the New Orleans Saints 20-13. They draw the NFC South again when they return to Glendale to host the Carolina Panthers, and they cannot be any more fortunate.

With Brian Burns long gone, Murray, who enters as the QB7 will not have to worry about the pass rush that much, and his passing yardage is projected to explode to over 220. His rushing yardage will also continue to remain decent, if low, at 32.

Justin Fields

Pittsburgh Steelers v New York Jets - NFL 2025 - Source: Getty

There was a time when Fields was considered "the fantasy favorite" among QBs: he loved to run with his legs, boosting his fantasy numbers on the ground. Alas, it did not translate to many wins because of his lack of passing reliability, so the Chicago Bears dumped him.

The Pittsburgh Steelers seemed to be the perfect team for him: generally successful and run-focused. Unfortunately, the organization preferred Russell Wilson over him, and while he went a decent 4-2 when he started, he was soon delisted.

So he joined the New York Jets and could not have sought a better debut: 16 completions for 218 yards and a touchdown in a close loss against his former team.

That puts him at QB6 - not bad for someone who was being dismissed as a bust - but he will need to be at his best against the Buffalo Bills, who boast a top-tier defense. Still, the projections for him look good - 188 yards passing and 59 rushing.

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Whom should I start in Week 2 - Kyler Murray or Justin Fields?

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Those rushing numbers give Justin Fields the win on Sportskeeda's Start/Sit Optimizer.

He entered the season with low expectations, with some analysts thinking the Jets would be annihilated in his first game with them, but he was instead competitive. Winning games and maintaining that competitiveness will go a long way towards ending North America's longest playoff drought - and maybe finally fulfilling all those fantasy football dreams that happened at the start of his career.

Edited by Andre Castillo