Should I start Sam Darnold or Joe Burrow in Week 8?

Where the draft room stands

Live drafts hold no current pick on Sam Darnold, and the board ranks him 140th overall on the rest of his evidence.

In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 26.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Joe Burrow, and the board ranks him 141st overall on the rest of his evidence.

The market-based projections

The market-based projection for Sam Darnold is 1.0 PPR points a game off 1 market across 1 market source. That is 0 percent of what a quarterback's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

The market-based projection for Joe Burrow is 0.9 PPR points a game off 1 market across 1 market source. That is 0 percent of what a quarterback's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

Sam Darnold's projection is not complete, so the two figures are not set against each other here.

This season through Week 7

Through Week 7, Sam Darnold has been on the field for 89 percent of SEA snaps, dropped back 196 times and thrown 7.0 air yards an attempt.

He has been sacked or hit on 39 of 196 dropbacks and scrambled 7 times.

In Week 5 against SF he completed 18 of 29 passes for 195 yards, threw 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions and ran 1 time for 5 yards.

In Week 6 against DEN he completed 27 of 49 passes for 278 yards, threw 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions and ran 2 times for 19 yards.

In Week 7 against KC he completed 20 of 28 passes for 257 yards, threw 1 touchdown and 1 interception and ran 2 times for 17 yards.

Through Week 7, Joe Burrow has been on the field for 99 percent of CIN snaps, dropped back 236 times and thrown 7.2 air yards an attempt.

He has been sacked or hit on 42 of 236 dropbacks and scrambled 7 times.

In Week 4 against JAX he completed 39 of 54 passes for 428 yards, threw 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions and ran 3 times for 6 yards.

In Week 5 against MIA he completed 23 of 32 passes for 190 yards, threw 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 2 times for 12 yards.

In Week 7 against BAL he completed 22 of 30 passes for 292 yards, threw 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 2 times for 12 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 Sam Darnold played 17 games and scored 249.4 PPR points, 14.7 a game, finishing QB13.

He threw for 4048 yards on 477 attempts with 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, and ran for 95 yards and 0 touchdowns.

That came to 28.1 attempts a game at 9 yards an attempt.

He was on the field for 96 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

In 2025 Joe Burrow played 8 games and scored 139.5 PPR points, 17.4 a game, finishing QB29.

He threw for 1809 yards on 259 attempts with 17 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, and ran for 41 yards and 0 touchdowns.

That came to 32.4 attempts a game at 7.0 yards an attempt.

He was on the field for 86 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

Sam Darnold was available for 9 games more.

Head to head

In 2025 Joe Burrow scored 17.4 PPR points a game and Sam Darnold 14.7, 2.8 a game between them.

Sam Darnold finished QB13 that year and Joe Burrow QB29.

Sam Darnold had 218 more pass attempts than Joe Burrow, 477 to 259.

Sam Darnold had 2239 more passing yards than Joe Burrow, 4048 to 1809.

This season Joe Burrow holds the bigger snap share, 99 percent against 89 percent.

Their target share this season is the same, 0 percent each.

Byes and availability

Sam Darnold is off in Week 11 and Joe Burrow in Week 6, so either can cover the other's bye.