Who Should I Start? Sam Darnold or J.J. McCarthy

Wednesday, July 23, 2:22 PM

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has taken command of the locker room from the start of camp, emerging as the team's clear-cut starter for the 2025 season. With a revamped offense featuring veteran wideout Cooper Kupp and deep threat Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Darnold is in position to thrive. Seattle is hoping that Darnold can replicate his success from last season with Minnesota, where he threw for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions over 17 games. The former first-round pick has the tools to elevate a promising group of weapons, making him an intriguing late-round sleeper in fantasy football formats.

Tuesday, June 17, 12:07 PM

There are plenty of question marks surrounding Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the 10th overall pick last year, after he missed his rookie season in 2024 with a torn right meniscus in his knee. However, ESPN's Kevin Seifert writes that McCarthy's arm strength has been fine after it was a topic of discussion going into the 2024 draft. "He definitely has an arm," receiver Justin Jefferson said. "That's for sure. He can definitely zip it whenever he needs to." His arm has looked especially lively on throws down the middle of the field, and McCarthy is starting to learn to vary his throws after Jefferson noted last summer that the rookie tended to throw every ball the same way -- hard and straight. With no threats to the starting job under center, the 22-year-old is Minnesota's clear starting QB going into 2025 and has some of the best weapons in the league. He's a QB2 with upside in fantasy.