Who Should I Start? Blaine Gabbert or Sam Darnold

Monday, January 8, 1:51 AM

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Blaine Gabbert wasn't asked to do much in Sunday's 13-12 road win over the Los Angeles Chargers, completing 15-of-30 passes for 154 yards and an interception with five carries for 46 yards. With the Chiefs resting most of their top skill positions in a game with no playoff implications, Gabbert understandably had a difficult time moving the ball and sustaining drives. The 34-year-old veteran looked spry, though, on 25- and 14-yard scampers to set up a go-ahead field-goal drive during the fourth quarter. Gabbert served his purpose in Week 18 to bridge the gap between this meaningless contest and K.C.'s postseason endeavors, and he will head back to the sidelines as Patrick Mahomes' backup when the team hosts the Miami Dolphins on Saturday night for Wild Card action.

Wednesday, May 8, 11:20 PM

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold could be named the team's Week 1 starter over first-round pick J.J. McCarthy. As Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com writes, "It's only a matter of time before McCarthy becomes the Vikings' starting quarterback [...] but it is not likely to happen as quickly as some fans might hope, and if anything, the Vikings are poised to err on the side of methodical caution." Such a scenario could see Minnesota let Darnold, whom they signed this past offseason when Kirk Cousins left for Atlanta, start a few games before transitioning to McCarthy. Darnold has struggled to support major fantasy production from his playmakers at previous stops, including the Jets and Panthers, so fantasy managers might want to temper expectations with players like Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson to start the year. Darnold himself falls to the low-end QB3 tier in fantasy football drafts.