Who Should I Start? Sam Darnold or Justin Herbert

Friday, October 17, 8:47 PM

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has been an exciting fantasy asset of late. Unfortunately, Darnold draws a very tough matchup against the Houston Texans on Monday night. Houston is the No. 1 overall team against opposing quarterbacks in fantasy in 2025. This passing defense has done well to shut down every opposing quarterback they have played, especially over the past two games. Even Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield had a pedestrian game against this defense in Week 2. Darnold's hot streak has included two straight games with at least 20 fantasy points. Additionally, Darnold has produced at least 242 passing yards in four of his past five games. Best of all, Darnold is protecting the football with just four turnovers this season. Darnold should continue to protect the ball against the Texans this week, but Houston's smothering defense may cap his overall passing output. This projects to be a lower-scoring game in a clash between two elite defenses. As such, Darnold should be rostered, but left on your bench in Week 7.

Friday, October 24, 12:11 AM

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert completed 18 of his 25 pass attempts for 227 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception during Thursday's Week 8 win over the Minnesota Vikings. He also took two sacks and rushed for a season-high 62 yards. Herbert has been an effective fantasy quarterback all season long, but he has truly taken his game to the next level over the last three weeks. During that span, he has a total of eight touchdowns. He does have three interceptions in that timeframe as well, but fantasy managers will tolerate the slight uptick in turnovers if he continues to throw to the end zone at such a high success rate. Herbert will continue to rank as a mid-range QB1 heading into a very favorable Week 9 matchup against the Tennessee Titans.