Who Should I Start? Sam Darnold or Drake Maye

Thursday, June 19, 12:24 PM

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold had a career year in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings, completing 66.2% of his passes for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 17 regular-season games to lead Minnesota to a 14-3 record. However, the former third overall pick in 2018 finished on a sour note in his final two games and knows he must prove himself again in 2025 with a new team. Darnold has familiarity with new Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak from their one year together in San Fran in 2023, but the move from Minnesota to Seattle is definitely a downgrade in terms of overall offense and the weapons he'll have in Seattle. The 28-year-old was excellent throwing downfield in 2024, but it helped to have one of the best receivers in the league in Justin Jefferson. Fantasy managers shouldn't be expecting a repeat of 2024, when Darnold finished as the QB9.

Tuesday, May 20, 11:39 PM

The Athletic's Chad Graff reports that New England Patriots second-year quarterback Drake Maye struggled in his first practice at organized team activities on Tuesday. Nobody should be putting too much stock into it, but Maye tossed four interceptions on his 16 pass attempts with the defense dominating early on. Three of the throws were outright misses, and one of them came on a batted pass on a throw behind his intended receiver. It's not all that surprising, though, with defenses usually ahead at this time of year and with Maye learning a new offensive scheme from Josh McDaniels. The 22-year-old former third overall pick eventually took over starting duties last year from Jacoby Brissett and predictably struggled for a Pats team lacking many offensive weapons. Drake showed signs of greatness, though, and he should be able to take a step forward in McDaniels' scheme with improved offensive weapons.