SEA · QB
Projected Points (PPR)
This week
No projection changes recorded this week.
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Sam Darnold enters this season on the Seattle depth chart behind Drew Lock, a stark shift from the workload he carried a year ago. In 2025 he played in 17 games, started all 17, and handled 96.4% of the offensive snaps, throwing 477 times for 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while completing 67.71% of his passes. That was a full-season, every-snap job. Through the opening game of 2026, his snap share has collapsed to 10%, with only two pass attempts, one completion, and 13 yards to show for it. That is not a slow start to a starting job — that is the signature of a backup role. Jaxon Smith-Njigba remains the top target in this passing game, and whoever is throwing him the ball inherits a proven, high-value receiver; the question for Darnold is whether he will be the one doing the throwing on a down-to-down basis. Right now, the answer written by the snap count is no. Any fantasy value he offers has to be evaluated as a QB2, not as a starter, until the depth chart or an in-season change says otherwise. The volume simply is not there, and volume is what drove his 2025 finish of 13th at the position with 249.42 PPR points and 14.7 per game. Strip out the snaps and the touchdown log empties with them.
The case for Sam Darnold rests entirely on last season's tape. Twenty-five touchdown passes, a completion rate of 67.71%, and 4,048 yards across 17 full starts are the marks of a quarterback capable of QB1-caliber weeks when given the reps. If an opportunity opens up — plan changes, a shift in performance, anything that moves him back into the every-down role he held in 2025 — the arm talent and rapport with a receiving corps anchored by Jaxon Smith-Njigba are already established. That prior season is real evidence, not a hypothetical, and it is the strongest argument any fantasy manager can make for stashing him. The case against him is what the 2026 numbers actually show. One game, 10% of the offensive snaps, two pass attempts, one completion, 13 yards, and 0.52 PPR points. That is a body of work indistinguishable from a player who is no longer the primary option under center. A finish of 36th among quarterbacks through the season's first game confirms it — that is bench-territory production, not a slow ramp-up for a starter finding rhythm. Drew Lock sits atop the depth chart in Seattle right now, and until that changes, every snap Darnold does not see is a snap that cannot produce fantasy points, regardless of what he did with the ball a year earlier. The honest read is that 2025 and 2026 are describing two different roles, not two different versions of the same player. A team does not hand its offense's non-run snaps to a backup unless the plan has genuinely changed, and a 96.4%-to-10% swing in snap share is about as clear a signal as this sport produces. Managers holding out hope for a return to the 2025 workload need to see the snap percentage move first — points do not come before opportunity, and right now the opportunity belongs to Lock. The touchdown production, interception total of 14, and the volume of 477 attempts from last year are historical facts worth remembering, but they say nothing about who is throwing the ball in Seattle this week. Until Darnold's snap share climbs back toward what it was, treat every one of those 2025 numbers as background information rather than a forecast.
Leave Sam Darnold on the wire in the vast majority of formats right now. A quarterback playing 10% of his team's offensive snaps, with two pass attempts and 13 yards to show for the season, is not a start, not a flex, and barely qualifies as a stash unless a league is unusually deep or a roster has bench space to spare. The 2025 season, with 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns and a finish of 13th at the position, is the reason his name still carries weight, but name recognition without snaps does not move fantasy scoreboards. The signal to watch is simple: Drew Lock's snap share and performance. If Lock struggles and the offense turns back to Darnold as its primary passer, the 2025 tape suggests he could be productive quickly given his prior completion rate of 67.71% and touchdown volume. Until that shift shows up in an actual snap count, there is no justification for rostering him over a streaming option at the position in shallow-to-medium leagues. In deep leagues with bench flexibility, a speculative hold costs little and preserves upside if the situation in Seattle changes. Everywhere else, this is a wire-to-roster decision that should wait for evidence of a role change rather than anticipate one.
Projections, injury status and news above update automatically. This section is rewritten when his role changes. Browse every player
Darnold is out again with a glute injury, and Drew Lock is starting in his place. Ian Rapoport also reported Darnold is recovering faster than expected and could return to practice this week.
Drew Lock will start because Darnold has been ruled out, making this a direct fantasy downgrade for the Seahawks passing game. Anthony Bradford is questionable, with Christian Haynes the likely fill-in if Bradford cannot go.
Sep 18, 9:45 PM ET
Source:USA TODAY
He has been ruled out for Sunday, and Drew Lock is set to start with Jalen Milroe backing him up.
Sep 17, 1:50 PM ET
Source:heraldnet.com
He is dealing with a glute injury that is expected to keep him out of Week 2.
Sep 16, 7:25 PM ET
Darnold will miss Week 2, and there is at least a chance he could return for Week 3. Fantasy managers in superflex or quarterback-needed formats need to move on immediately.
Sep 16, 5:55 PM ET
Source:Yahoo Sports
He is dealing with a soft-tissue glute injury and is not expected to go on injured reserve; there is still a chance he could return within the next couple of games.
Sep 15, 7:40 PM ET
Source:CBS Sports
A hip fracture has been ruled out after testing, but he is still expected to miss Week 2 and could be sidelined for a few weeks. Drew Lock is set to start while Darnold recovers.
Sep 15, 7:15 PM ET