J.K. Dobbins or Patrick Mahomes: who should I start?

Where the draft room stands

Drafters have formed no consensus on J.K. Dobbins: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 73rd overall on the rest of his evidence.

In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 94.

Drafters have formed no consensus on Patrick Mahomes: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 74th overall on the rest of his evidence.

In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 27.

What the sportsbooks price

The books have J.K. Dobbins at 10.1 PPR points a game off 3 markets across 16 books. That is 90 percent of what a running back's price needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

The player markets price Patrick Mahomes at 17.5 PPR points a game, built from 5 markets across 17 books. That is the 18th highest figure of the 183 players the books price.

J.K. Dobbins's price is not complete, so the two figures are not set against each other here.

This season through Week 1

Through Week 1, J.K. Dobbins has been on the field for 43 percent of DEN snaps, taken 57 percent of the carries, drawn 0 percent of the targets and had 0 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 0 of the offence's 8 third down targets and seen 0 of its 2 two minute targets.

In Week 1 against KC he carried 8 times for 36 yards and did not score.

Through Week 1, Patrick Mahomes has been on the field for 100 percent of KC snaps, dropped back 33 times and thrown 4.9 air yards an attempt.

He has been sacked or hit on 5 of 33 dropbacks and scrambled 4 times.

In Week 1 against DEN he completed 15 of 27 passes for 184 yards, threw 2 touchdowns and 1 interception and ran 4 times for 27 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 J.K. Dobbins played 10 games and scored 115.9 PPR points, 11.6 a game, finishing RB43.

He carried 153 times for 772 yards and 4 touchdowns, and caught 11 of 14 targets for 37 more yards.

That came to 15.3 carries a game at 5.0 yards a carry and 1.1 catches a game.

He was on the field for 51 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

In 2025 Patrick Mahomes played 14 games and scored 296.7 PPR points, 21.2 a game, finishing QB11.

He threw for 3587 yards on 502 attempts with 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and ran for 422 yards and 5 touchdowns.

That came to 35.9 attempts a game at 7.1 yards an attempt.

He was on the field for 97 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

Patrick Mahomes was available for 4 games more.

Side by side

In 2025 Patrick Mahomes scored 21.2 PPR points a game and J.K. Dobbins 11.6, 9.6 a game between them.

J.K. Dobbins finished RB43 and Patrick Mahomes QB11, which are two different ladders.

J.K. Dobbins is a running back and Patrick Mahomes a quarterback, so the question is which slot you fill first rather than which of them is better.

Byes and availability

J.K. Dobbins is off in Week 10 and Patrick Mahomes in Week 5, so either can cover the other's bye.

What would change the answer

J.K. Dobbins is only part priced, so the books' half of this page is whole for only one of them.