Sam Darnold or Kayshon Boutte: who should I start in Week 6?

The market-based projections

Sam Darnold's market-based projection is 14.7 PPR points a game, built from 5 markets across 14 market sources. That is the 50th highest figure of the 180 players with a market-based projection.

Kayshon Boutte's market-based projection is 6.2 PPR points a game, built from 3 markets across 13 market sources. That is the 122nd highest figure of the 180 players with a market-based projection.

Where the draft room stands

Drafters have formed no consensus on Sam Darnold: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 121st overall on the rest of his evidence.

In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 26.

Drafters have formed no consensus on Kayshon Boutte: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 123rd overall on the rest of his evidence.

This season through Week 5

Through Week 5, Sam Darnold has been on the field for 81 percent of SEA snaps, dropped back 110 times and thrown 6.7 air yards an attempt.

He has been sacked or hit on 22 of 110 dropbacks and scrambled 3 times.

In Week 3 against WAS he completed 31 of 45 passes for 379 yards, threw 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions and ran 1 time for 5 yards.

In Week 4 against LAC he completed 13 of 22 passes for 168 yards, threw 2 touchdowns and 1 interception and ran 1 time for 8 yards.

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.

Through Week 5, Kayshon Boutte has been on the field for 61 percent of HOU snaps, drawn 11 percent of the targets and had 6 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 2 of the offence's 39 third down targets, had 0 of its 7 chances inside the five and seen 2 of its 30 two minute targets.

His 18 targets have averaged 12.7 air yards.

In Week 3 against IND he caught 2 of 2 targets for 21 yards and did not score.

In Week 4 against DAL he caught 3 of 4 targets for 36 yards and did not score.

In Week 5 against TEN he caught 3 of 5 targets for 38 yards and did not score.

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 Kayshon Boutte played 14 games and scored 124.1 PPR points, 8.9 a game, finishing WR51.

He caught 33 of 46 targets for 551 yards and 6 touchdowns, with 4 red zone targets.

That came to 3.3 targets a game, a 72 percent catch rate and 16.7 yards a catch.

He was on the field for 68 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

Sam Darnold was available for 3 games more.

Side by side

In 2025 Sam Darnold scored 14.7 PPR points a game and Kayshon Boutte 8.9, 5.8 a game between them.

Sam Darnold finished QB13 and Kayshon Boutte WR51, which are two different ladders.

Sam Darnold is a quarterback and Kayshon Boutte a wide receiver, so the question is which slot you fill first rather than which of them is better.

Byes and availability

Sam Darnold is off in Week 11 and Kayshon Boutte in Week 8, so either can cover the other's bye.

What would change the answer

8.6 points a game is the entire case. The market restates it every week, and a line that moves moves the order with it.

The draft market is the half that is missing: when the consensus sample holds these two again it can order them differently from the projection, and this page will follow the sample rather than the market-based projection when it does.