Who Should I Start? Sam Darnold or Drake Maye

Sunday, October 5, 8:59 PM

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold completed 28 of 34 pass attempts for 341 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception during Sunday's Week 5 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was not sacked in the contest. Darnold essentially played mistake-free football for the first 59 minutes, keeping the underdog Seahawks in the game until the very end. Along the way, he turned in one of the week's best fantasy performances, which was a refreshing development since he hadn't exceeded 21 fantasy points in a single game through the first four weeks. Unfortunately for Darnold and the Seahawks, the veteran quarterback threw an interception with 58 seconds left, setting up a game-winning field goal for Tampa Bay. Seattle lost, but Darnold proved that he can perform against an above-average defense. He'll rank as a mid-range QB2 for Week 6 against Jacksonville.

Saturday, October 4, 9:29 AM

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has been playing some of the best football of his young career and should be deployed as a mid-range QB1 in most leagues during Week 5. He takes on the Buffalo Bills this week, and while that's a tougher matchup, it should at least lead to some garbage-time opportunities, if not steady, consistent production in a potentially close game. The Bills have actually been relatively soft this year, allowing the most rushing touchdowns and 13th-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, as well as just one interception. That bodes well for Maye, who is the overall QB4 so far while contributing 988 passing yards, 98 rushing yards, nine total touchdowns, and two interceptions. Maye should be started in most fantasy leagues this week given his extreme success and relatively favorable matchup.