Who Should I Start? Sam Darnold or Shedeur Sanders

Monday, February 9, 12:37 PM

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold completed 19 of his 38 pass attempts for 202 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions during Sunday's Super Bowl LX victory over the New England Patriots. He also rushed for five yards and took just one sack. The veteran signal-caller didn't make a ton of breathtaking plays, but more importantly, he played turnover-free football while letting the defense and rushing attack win the big game. It was a storybook moment for Darnold, who started his career as a so-called first-round "bust" in New York. His NFL voyage took him through Carolina, San Francisco, and Minnesota before he signed with the Seahawks last offseason. During his first year in Seattle, he played all 17 regular-season games, completing 67.7% of his pass attempts for 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. For the second year in a row, he eclipsed 4,000 passing yards and was named to the Pro Bowl. With Jaxon Smith-Njigba at his disposal and a fantastic offensive line in front of him, Darnold should be due for more success in the future. He'll rank as a fringe top-14 quarterback entering 2026 fantasy football drafts.

Wednesday, February 25, 8:35 AM

New Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken said Wednesday that he thinks the team's starting quarterback job is "an open competition" and said he "doesn't know why it wouldn't be" when questioned by the media, per Zac Jackson of The Athletic. Jackson reports that Monken said he sees "elite playmaking ability" in Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders, but remained noncommittal about Sanders' status as the QB1 favorite. As a rookie in 2025, Sanders completed 56.6% of his pass attempts for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions across eight games (seven starts). Sanders took over as the team's starter in Week 12, replacing fellow rookie signal-caller Dillon Gabriel. In 10 games (six starts), Gabriel completed 59.5% of his pass attempts for 937 yards, seven touchdowns, and two interceptions. While Sanders could very well open 2026 as the starter in Cleveland, it appears as though the team is leaving the door open to the possibility of bringing in another quarterback over the offseason or simply staging more internal competition.