Who Should I Start? Sam Darnold or Theo Johnson

Sunday, October 5, 8:59 PM

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold completed 28 of 34 pass attempts for 341 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception during Sunday's Week 5 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was not sacked in the contest. Darnold essentially played mistake-free football for the first 59 minutes, keeping the underdog Seahawks in the game until the very end. Along the way, he turned in one of the week's best fantasy performances, which was a refreshing development since he hadn't exceeded 21 fantasy points in a single game through the first four weeks. Unfortunately for Darnold and the Seahawks, the veteran quarterback threw an interception with 58 seconds left, setting up a game-winning field goal for Tampa Bay. Seattle lost, but Darnold proved that he can perform against an above-average defense. He'll rank as a mid-range QB2 for Week 6 against Jacksonville.

Sunday, October 5, 11:23 PM

New York Giants tight end Theo Johnson is now firmly in the mix as a waiver-wire pickup heading into Week 6 after catching six of his seven targets for 33 yards and two more touchdowns in Sunday's 26-14 loss on the road to the New Orleans Saints. Meanwhile, fellow TE Daniel Bellinger led the team with 52 receiving yards on four receptions. Both the 24-year-old's six catches and seven targets were season highs, and it's looking like he's going to need to be taken seriously as a high-end QB2 now that receiver Malik Nabers (knee) is lost for the season. Johnson's upside certainly takes a hit with Bellinger involved, but fantasy managers can't just ignore Johnson's three touchdowns in rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart's first two NFL starts. He'll be in play as a touchdown-dependent TE2 on a short week next Thursday night against the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6.