Who Should I Start? Taylor Heinicke or Sam Darnold

Wednesday, August 28, 8:22 PM

The Los Angeles Chargers are acquiring quarterback Taylor Heinicke from the Atlanta Falcons on Wednesday in exchange for a conditional sixth-round draft pick. Not only is starting quarterback Justin Herbert (foot) recovering from plantar fasciitis in his foot, but backup Easton Stick regressed in training camp and the preseason. The 31-year-old Heinicke will be an upgrade at the QB position behind Herbert entering the regular season next week. In Atlanta, the Falcons were expected all along to try and trade Heinicke after taking rookie Michael Penix Jr. in the first round in April. Heinicke made his NFL debut back in 2017 with the Houston Texans and has appeared in 38 games (29 starts) since then with four different teams. His best year came in 2021 with Washington, when he threw for 3,419 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 picks on 321 pass attempts over 16 games (15 starts).

Friday, December 20, 5:00 PM

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold will get a rough matchup this Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks on the road. The 27-year-old had his fourth outing of the season with fewer than 16 fantasy points last weekend in a win over the Chicago Bears and has another stiff test on tap in Week 16. The Seahawks are vulnerable on the ground but have allowed the twelfth-fewest passing yards per game to opponents (213.6). Despite letting up a friendly 21:11 TD:INT ratio, Seattle is affording fantasy QBs 17.0 points per game -; a top-eleven mark in the NFL. Still, the Vikings deploy one of the better sets of offensive weaponry in the league, and Darnold should put up a fight with a first-round playoff bye on the line. He comes in at RotoBaller's QB8 ahead of the fantasy semi-finals.