The NFL regular season has officially passed the halfway point. We asked our staff their thoughts on the second half.
Who has the best chance to flip the script on their season and finish with a solid second half?
Here are their answers.
QB Bryce Young, Carolina
Andy Hicks - Let’s go right out on a limb with this one. Young seems to have rounded a corner in his career. Decent performances against two top 10 defenses in the Broncos and the Panthers give him a good run at the starting job. And his reward is a very gentle schedule against the pass. Six of his last eight games are against bottom-ten pass defenses, and the other two are not against a top 10 unit. He was a number one overall pick; he never will if he doesn’t perform now.
QB Patrick Mahomes II, Kansas City
Ryan Weisse - Mahomes has been playing outside the top 15 QBs this season, but the Chiefs are still undefeated. As we enter the fantasy playoffs, he could regain his standing as a top-5 fantasy quarterback. He started that climb in Week 9 with his first three-touchdown game of 2024. It appears the addition of DeAndre Hopkins has made a difference.
Looking at Footballguys Strength of Schedule tool, it's not an easy road for Mahomes, but he has three division games and should be competitive against Buffalo, Houston, and Pittsburgh. Plus, in Week 12, he gets an always-welcome matchup with Carolina. It has been a rough season for Mahomes' fantasy managers, but he can redeem himself in the following weeks.
WR Courtland Sutton, Denver
Jeff Bell - Sutton is already flipping after a big performance in Week 9. He sat at WR52 per game through the first eight weeks, including a high-profile goose egg on Thursday Night Football in Week 7. After a WR7 performance in Week 9, he is at least up to WR39.
The Broncos offense is trending upward with the development of quarterback Bo Nix. Sutton will be the primary target. He has been better than people may realize, topping 13.1 points in four of his last six games and averaging 14.93 points over those contests, a mark that would make him WR7 on the season. Sutton should be due for some positive touchdown regression, too, scoring just twice in the year. Sutton is due for a difficult matchup in Week 10 against Kansas City, but that works both ways. A big performance is encouraging for the remaining schedule, or a quiet game could give the last good buy window as his schedule eases up late.