Who Should I Start? Sam Darnold or Bo Nix

Thursday, March 6, 9:11 PM

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that the Minnesota Vikings and impending free-agent quarterback Sam Darnold continue to negotiate this week after the Vikings decided not to place the franchise tag on him by the deadline this past Tuesday. Minnesota continues to say that they would like to re-sign Darnold for less than the franchise tag ($40 million), which would make it manageable to build the team around him in 2025. It's a delicate situation, as last year's first-rounder J.J. McCarthy (knee), who the Vikings still have faith in as their future franchise signal-caller, will be back this year after missing all of 2024 due to a season-ending knee injury that he suffered last preseason. Their willingness to bring Darnold back could mean they'd be fine having McCarthy sit and learn as the backup in 2025 before finally taking over in 2026. Either way, Darnold's best path to his highest fantasy ceiling in 2025 will be to stay in Minnesota.

Tuesday, February 25, 8:19 PM

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (undisclosed) is "fine" and has been working out after undergoing an undisclosed procedure earlier this offseason, according to head coach Sean Payton. Nix's procedure was not related to his back injury from his rookie season. The surgery shouldn't have any affect on the 25-year-old's 2025 fantasy value after a very impressive first season in the NFL in which he threw for 3,775 yards, 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions on 567 pass attempts. The first-rounder out of Oregon also ran the ball 92 times for 430 yards and an additional four touchdowns to show off his underrated speed. Nix finished as the QB8 in overall fantasy scoring, and he did it all with a pretty non-existent running game to help him out. The Broncos will surely be looking to beef up their offensive weapons around Nix in his sophomore season, where he'll certainly be in play as a midrange QB1 target in fantasy drafts.