Who Should I Start? Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield

Wednesday, May 6, 7:29 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield still finished as the QB12 in fantasy football last season, but it was a down year by his standards. He had been the QB10 and QB4 in the previous two seasons, and he finished 2025 with a relatively underwhelming stat line of 3,693 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. While some of the blame can be attributed to a wide receiver room that struggled to stay healthy, we would have liked to see him prevail and continue to produce, especially since it's such a talented wide receiver depth chart. Mike Evans departed in free agency, but with Chris Godwin Jr., Emeka Egbuka, and Jalen McMillan at his disposal, Mayfield still has plenty of targets who can help him get back to the top-eight range in fantasy football. He could also benefit from a coaching staff change, as the Bucs brought in Zac Robinson to replace offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard. Furthermore, there could be some added motivation from the fact that Mayfield is heading into a contract year. If he doesn't sign an extension before the season, there's a chance he could be showcasing himself for all 32 teams. With that being said, there's also slightly less certainty about his future beyond 2026, which is why we've seen him drop to QB19 in RotoBaller's dynasty fantasy football rankings.