Fantasy Showdown: Lamar Jackson vs. Patrick Mahomes

Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes?

That's a question many fantasy football owners will be asking themselves on the days leading up to their draft.

Jackson and Mahomes are two of the league's top playmakers and each of the young quarterbacks has already won a league MVP award.

Mahomes is 2-0 against Jackson with both victories in Kansas City. The Chiefs and Ravens meet in Baltimore on Sept, 28, a prime-time matchup that is widely regarded as the regular-season game of the year.

Both players put up huge numbers in 2019.

Jackson is coming off one of the most successful regular seasons by any quarterback in NFL history. He completed 265 of 401 passes for 3,127 yards and an NFL-high 36 touchdowns (113.3 rating), which was also a franchise record, in 2019.

Jackson finished with 1,206 yards rushing — sixth-best in the league and the most by a quarterback in NFL single-season history —with another seven scores.

Mahomes finished the season with 4,031 yards and 26 touchdowns with five interceptions (105.3 rating). He led the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl in 50 years and was named the game's MVP.

Both Jackson and Mahomes have several key playmakers at their disposal.

Jackson's favorite target is tight end Mark Andrews, who led all tight ends with 10 touchdowns last season. Marquise Brown is expected to have a breakout year at wide receiver.

The Ravens also broke the single-season rushing record last year with 3,296 yards and have all three running backs still on the roster. Baltimore added J.K. Dobbins from Ohio State in this year's draft and he could climb the depth chart as a rookie.

Mahomes has even more playmakers at his disposal with the speedy Tyreek Hill, who caught 58 passes for 860 yards with seven touchdowns last season. Hill, Sammy Watkins, and Demarcus Robinson create one of the most formidable groups of wide receivers in the NFL.

Tight end Travis Kelce is one of the best tight ends in the league and he had 97 receptions for 1,229 yards with five touchdowns in 2019.

VERDICT

Jackson will be hard-pressed to top his record-breaking season in 2019. However, he is entering his third year and is a more seasoned quarterback. The Ravens added a pair of playmaking wide receivers — Devin Duvernay and James Proche — in this year's draft and both are expected to make an immediate impact.

Mahomes could throw for more than 5,000 yards and more than 50 touchdowns because of all the playmakers at his disposal. He also signed a 10-year extension that should also make him more at ease.

While both are talented, Jackson has a slight edge because of his ability as a dual-threat and accumulate points with both his arm and legs.

However, the difference between the two quarterbacks in negligible and you can't go wrong either way.