Who Should I Start? Sam Darnold or Lamar Jackson


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
22.2 8.6 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0

Sam Darnold News

Sam Darnold Should Benefit From a Strong Supporting Cast

Tuesday, August 25, 8:18 PM

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has a talented group of weapons around him at wide receiver, running back, and tight end. Although Jake Bobo (knee) went down with a season-ending ACL tear, this is still a very talented wide receiver room headlined by Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, and Rashid Shaheed. All three have different skill sets that should give Darnold plenty of options in the passing game. At tight end, AJ Barner is coming off a big 2025 campaign, while Elijah Arroyo has a second-round draft stock. Meanwhile, the Seahawks have an impressive backfield featuring Jadarian Price and Zach Charbonnet (knee). Rounding out the offense is a very dependable offensive line. The Seahawks didn't make many additions in the trenches, but mostly because it was already a strong unit. Grey Zabel and Charles Cross are terrific blindside protectors for Darnold, who only took 27 sacks last year (as opposed to 48 in 2024 with Minnesota). Despite having limited mobility, the veteran signal caller has ranked as a top-13 quarterback in fantasy football for each of the last two seasons. He enters the 2026 season as the QB23 in RotoBaller's latest draft rankings.


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
25.7 40.3 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0

Lamar Jackson News

We Could See "One of Most Explosive Versions" of Lamar Jackson in 2026

Thursday, August 27, 5:49 AM

Through the first three games of 2025, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson averaged more than 30 fantasy points per game, looking like his usual dominant self before injuries derailed his season, and NFL Network's Trevor Sikkema believes a return to health could lead to big things in 2026. "I'm really excited for what Lamar Jackson could be this year," he said while appearing on NFL Report. "To me, we could see not only the regular version of Lamar Jackson, which is pretty dang spectacular, but we could see maybe one of the most explosive versions of Lamar Jackson in this Declan Doyle offense." The Ravens were one of the most aggressive passing offenses on first down last year, helping to set up the third-and-manageable situations in which they thrived, and Sikkema believes Doyle will put the ball in Jackson's hands even more on early downs. Jackson is RotoBaller's QB1 and has one of the highest ceilings in the history of the game, as evidenced by two different seasons of 400+ fantasy points, and if he can manage close to a full slate of games in 2026, he should again be a league-winner.


Sam Darnold vs. Lamar Jackson

Still trying to decide between Darnold and Jackson? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Sam Darnold is projected to score 22.2 points this week while Lamar Jackson is projected to score 25.7 points.