Sam Darnold or Michael Penix Jr.: who should I start in Week 3?
Neither man carries a posted season price right now, so this is their usage this season and their last full season's numbers, side by side.
Updated Sep 25, 2026 at 3:51 AM ET
Sam Darnold is the start on the books' latest price, 14.9 points to Michael Penix Jr.'s 12.9, with Michael Penix Jr. on the price the books posted for his Week 3 game because his next market is not posted yet. This answer reorders when it is. What follows is how each has been used this season.
More fantasy football tools and rankings, all priced from the same board.
QB26 · SEA · bye 11
2025 vs pass yds line 9-8
- Overall rank
- 131
- Draft pick
- no consensus
- Tier
- 5
QB31 · ATL · bye 11
2025 vs pass yds line 4-5
- Books price
- 12.9 pts a game Wk 3 price
- Overall rank
- 147
- Draft pick
- no consensus
- Tier
- 7
The gap
- Pick differencenot comparable without a consensus on both
- Board size230 draftable players
Consensus average draft position has stopped updating on these two, so the figures that depend on it are left out rather than printed stale. The verdict line above restates the sportsbooks' price and nothing else.
Where the draft room stands
Drafters have formed no consensus on Sam Darnold: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 131st overall on the rest of his evidence.
In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 62.
Drafters have formed no consensus on Michael Penix Jr.: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 147th overall on the rest of his evidence.
In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 138.
What the sportsbooks price
The books have Sam Darnold at 14.9 PPR points a game off 4 markets across 11 books. That is 80 percent of what a quarterback's price needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.
No sportsbook has posted a season market for Michael Penix Jr., so the only market pricing him on this page is the draft room.
This season through Week 1
Through Week 1, Sam Darnold has been on the field for 10 percent of SEA snaps, dropped back 3 times and thrown 7.5 air yards an attempt.
He has been sacked or hit on 1 of 3 dropbacks.
In Week 1 against NE he completed 1 of 2 passes for 13 yards and threw 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.
The usage feed holds no snap or target counts for Michael Penix Jr. this season.
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 8.5 yards an attempt.
He was on the field for 96 percent of the snaps in the games he played.
In 2025 Michael Penix Jr. played 9 games and scored 123.3 PPR points, 13.7 a game, finishing QB33.
He threw for 1982 yards on 276 attempts with 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, and ran for 70 yards and 1 touchdown.
That came to 30.7 attempts a game at 7.2 yards an attempt.
He was on the field for 93 percent of the snaps in the games he played.
Sam Darnold was available for 8 games more.
Head to head
In 2025 Sam Darnold scored 14.7 PPR points a game and Michael Penix Jr. 13.7, 1.0 a game between them.
Sam Darnold finished QB13 that year and Michael Penix Jr. QB33.
Sam Darnold had 201 more pass attempts than Michael Penix Jr., 477 to 276.
Sam Darnold had 2066 more passing yards than Michael Penix Jr., 4048 to 1982.
Byes and availability
Both are off in Week 11, so a roster holding the pair has that one week to cover twice.
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