Who Should I Start? Sam Darnold or Terry McLaurin


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
22.3 8.2 0.0 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
12.6 0.1 0.0 4.3 58.6 0.4

Terry McLaurin News

Consistency is Key for Terry McLaurin in 2026

Tuesday, August 25, 8:09 PM

Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin is looking to put an atrocious 2025 season behind him. He was limited to just 10 games due to injury, and he finished the year with a modest 38 catches, 582 yards, and three touchdowns. Even if you extrapolate his stats over a full 17-game campaign, he still would have had just five touchdowns and fewer than 1,000 yards. It's certainly not a lack of talent, as McLaurin was the WR7 in 2025. More likely, he struggled as a result of his own inconsistent availability, as well as inconsistent quarterback play. The Commanders cycled through three different quarterbacks last year, and Jayden Daniels missed 10 games. If both McLaurin and Daniels can play close to 17 games in 2026, the talented pass-catcher should return to the top-15 receiver range in fantasy football. The upside is somewhat baked into his current ADP of 52.8, and he currently ranks as the WR24 in RotoBaller's latest draft rankings.


Sam Darnold vs. Terry McLaurin

Still trying to decide between Darnold and McLaurin? 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 22.3 points this week while Terry McLaurin is projected to score 12.6 points.