Mike White will earn his second career start on Sunday against the vaunted Buffalo defense. Few untested quarterbacks have excelled like White has. But his track record remains sparse. Can White be a top-14 QB in fantasy football in Week 10?
Zach Wilson vs. Mike White: Who’s better?
The Jets began this season with high hopes . . . um, scratch that.
The Jets began this season with hopes. They hoped Zach Wilson — the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft — would become the franchise QB they’ve longed for since Ken O’Brien or Joe Namath. They hoped rookie second-rounder Elijah Moore would become a weekly offensive weapon and fourth-round rookie Michael Carter would help anchor a historically subdued backfield. And they hoped free agent addition Corey Davis would play like a No. 1 receiver.
Three out of four isn’t bad, especially for this franchise. Moore has been a recent breakout star, Carter has quickly become a viable 1A back alongside Ty Johnson, and if not for his injury, Davis would have been on pace for 989 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Mike White has a great opportunity to showcase talent again vs. Bills
But Wilson has struggled to acclimate, producing bottom-five fantasy QB numbers leading up to a Week 7 exit due to a knee injury. His backup, the 26-year-old White, had never thrown a pass in the NFL. Yet, White’s first attempt was a TD. At the time, what struck me most is that the Jets trusted him to throw down “only” 17-0 in the second quarter and facing a third-and-goal at the Patriots’ 3-yard line.
That the team trusted White in that moment was the first of many examples of why he isn’t an ordinary NFL newbie. His brilliant play in Weeks 8 and 9 (before getting hurt) suggests there’s more upside than we fully understand. But can he be a weekly fantasy streamer while Wilson remains sidelined? Today’s massive test against Buffalo will tell us.
Should fantasy managers start White in Week 10?
And what a massive test it will be. Opposing quarterbacks are averaging a 62.9 QB rating against the Bills. For context, the 2019 Patriots defense led the league with a 62.8 mark, and no other defense has done better since 2009, when the Jets (58.8) and Bills (61.1) led the league.
It would be difficult to expect White to keep the good times rolling. That said, seven of Buffalo’s eight games have come against Miami (twice), Tennessee, Washington, Pittsburgh, Houston, and Jacksonville. They’ve faced only one great quarterback: Patrick Mahomes (who threw for 272 yards and 2 TDs). Of course, White cannot be classified as a “great” quarterback. But he brings a skill set that is arguably better than some of the QBs the Bills have steamrolled.
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I like White cracking the top 18 this week, thanks in part to two terrific RB pass catchers and the ascending Moore. Can you trust him as a streamer in 14-team leagues? Well, there’s no way to trust someone with only 88 career pass attempts. But White has shown a poise that is rare in inexperienced journeyman athletes.
He’s played like a future franchise QB. Perhaps after today, he’ll be seen as one.
