Sam Darnold or Michael Penix Jr.: who should I start in Week 5?
Both players' season market price, their usage this season and their last full season's numbers, with the draft market's own figures wherever it still has them.
Updated Oct 7, 2026 at 10:11 PM ET
The market prices Sam Darnold 0.9 points a game ahead of Michael Penix Jr. this season, and that is the order this page leads on. Neither is in the consensus draft sample any more, so there is no current draft order to give between them: the market price is the live read on these two.
More fantasy football tools and rankings, all priced from the same board.
QB23 · SEA · bye 11
2025 vs pass yds line 9-8
- Market price
- 15.4 pts a game
- Draft pick
- no consensus
QB27 · ATL · bye 11
2025 vs pass yds line 4-5
- Market price
- 14.5 pts a game
- Draft pick
- no consensus
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The gap
- Pick differencenot comparable without a consensus on both
- Price difference0.9 points a game
- Board size219 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 market price and nothing else.
What the player markets price
The player markets price Sam Darnold at 15.4 PPR points a game, built from 5 markets across 16 market sources. That is the 40th highest figure of the 183 players the market prices.
The player markets price Michael Penix Jr. at 14.5 PPR points a game, built from 5 markets across 16 market sources. That is the 48th highest figure of the 183 players the market prices.
Where the draft room stands
Drafters have formed no consensus on Sam Darnold: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 112th overall on the rest of his evidence.
In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 27.
Drafters have formed no consensus on Michael Penix Jr.: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 125th overall on the rest of his evidence.
This season through Week 4
Through Week 4, Sam Darnold has been on the field for 75 percent of SEA snaps, dropped back 75 times and thrown 6.8 air yards an attempt.
He has been sacked or hit on 14 of 75 dropbacks and scrambled 2 times.
In Week 1 against NE he completed 1 of 2 passes for 13 yards and threw 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.
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.
Through Week 4, Michael Penix Jr. has been on the field for 100 percent of ATL snaps, dropped back 46 times and thrown 6.2 air yards an attempt.
He has been sacked or hit on 2 of 46 dropbacks.
In Week 3 against GB he completed 18 of 25 passes for 256 yards and threw 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
In Week 4 against NO he completed 15 of 20 passes for 223 yards and threw 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions.
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.
This season Michael Penix Jr. holds the bigger snap share, 100 percent against 75 percent.
Their target share this season is the same, 0 percent each.
Byes and availability
Both are off in Week 11, so a roster holding the pair has that one week to cover twice.
What would change the answer
0.9 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 price, and this page will follow the sample rather than the market price when it does.
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