Who Should I Start? Sam Darnold or Rome Odunze

Friday, October 31, 6:33 PM

Hopefully, you rostered Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (chest) through his bye week because he draws a great matchup with the Washington Commanders on Sunday. The Commanders' defense has had trouble stopping opposing passing offenses with a leaky secondary. Darnold should have no issues spreading the ball around to his various wide receivers all day. Prior to a tough matchup with the Texans in Week 7, Darnold had notched five straight games with at least 16.08 fantasy points. While those are no world-beating numbers, they are enough to anchor your fantasy team at the quarterback position. Darnold's superpower this year has been his lack of turnovers. The Commanders have had difficulty forcing turnovers all season long. They only have four interceptions in eight games. Darnold should be rostered for the rest of the season as a QB2 with upside. However, he should absolutely be in lineups in a week in which the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles, and their respective quarterbacks, are on a bye. Darnold was dealing with a chest injury all week, but he logged three full practice days. The injury should be of no concern.

Saturday, November 1, 9:51 AM

Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze has enjoyed a breakout sophomore season under first-year head coach Ben Johnson, recording 31 receptions for 473 yards and five touchdowns on 56 targets in seven games. The 23-year-old leads the team with a 25.5% target share and has built a solid rapport with fellow second-year quarterback Caleb Williams. Odunze is coming off his best game since Week 3 against the Cowboys, catching seven of 10 targets for 114 yards in Week 8 at Baltimore, the fourth 100-yard game of his career. The 2024 first-rounder is again set up to reward fantasy managers with a beautiful matchup on deck against Cincinnati. Odunze ranks as RotoBaller's WR9 in PPR formats for Week 9.