Start Brock Purdy or Sam Darnold? Week 7

Updated Oct 20, 2:41 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Brock Purdy over Sam Darnold

Start

Brock Purdy

QB · SF · at ATL

Market projects: 18.8; recent weeks avg
ATL D vs QB: 18.7; 12th most to QBs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 84 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 98%; Through Week 6

Sit

Sam Darnold

QB · SEA · vs KC

Market projects: 16.5; fantasy pts
KC D vs QB: 12.6; 3rd fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 32 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 86%; Through Week 6

Should I drop Sam Darnold for Brock Purdy?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Brock Purdy projects 171 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (17.1 a game over 10 games), Sam Darnold 151 (15.1 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Brock Purdy over Sam Darnold.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Brock Purdy over Sam Darnold in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Brock Purdy at 18.8 points and Sam Darnold at 16.5, a gap of 2.3. Sam Darnold's number is scaled up from a partial market: not every stat the position needs is posted yet, so the rest is estimated from what is. No player market is posted for Brock Purdy this week yet, so his 18.8 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4, 5 and 6 (17.6, 16.2 and 22.6); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. Drafters take Brock Purdy at ADP 86 and Sam Darnold at 155.

What the market projects

No Week 7 player market is posted for Brock Purdy yet. His market-based projections were 17.6, 16.2 and 22.6 points in Weeks 4, 5 and 6, an average of 18.8, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

Player markets imply 16.5 fantasy points for Sam Darnold, with 80 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Sam Darnold is 225 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns and 0.1 rushing touchdowns (11, 12 and 12 market sources).

That puts Brock Purdy 2.3 points ahead of Sam Darnold on these projections.

Week 7 matchups

Brock Purdy and SF visit ATL on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

ATL allowed 18.7 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 6 games, the 12th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 269 yards and 1.7 touchdowns a game against ATL, with 0.2 interceptions a game.

Sam Darnold and SEA host KC on Sunday at 8:20 PM ET.

KC allowed 12.6 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 5 games, the 3rd fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 224 yards and 0.8 touchdowns a game against KC, with an interception a game.

By points allowed to the position, Brock Purdy has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Brock Purdy is not on the injury report.

Sam Darnold is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Brock Purdy played 98 percent of SF snaps, dropped back 190 times and threw an average of 8.0 air yards per attempt.

Brock Purdy, Week 3 against ARI: 54 of 54 snaps, 15 of 27 passes for 297 yards, 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 35 yards.

Brock Purdy, Week 4 against DEN: 66 of 66 snaps, 19 of 29 passes for 218 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 8 carries for 31 yards.

Brock Purdy, Week 5 against SEA: 60 of 60 snaps, 19 of 29 passes for 189 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, 3 carries for 8 yards.

Brock Purdy, Week 6 against WAS: 62 of 62 snaps, 21 of 29 passes for 264 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 5 carries for 28 yards.

Through Week 6, Sam Darnold played 86 percent of SEA snaps, dropped back 166 times and threw an average of 7.3 air yards per attempt.

Sam Darnold, Week 3 against WAS: 67 of 67 snaps, 31 of 45 passes for 379 yards, 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, 1 carry for 5 yards.

Sam Darnold, Week 4 against LAC: 60 of 60 snaps, 13 of 22 passes for 168 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, 1 carry for 8 yards.

Sam Darnold, Week 5 against SF: 63 of 63 snaps, 18 of 29 passes for 195 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, 1 carry for 5 yards.

Sam Darnold, Week 6 against DEN: 85 of 85 snaps, 27 of 49 passes for 278 yards, 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, 2 carries for 19 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Brock Purdy played 9 games for SF and scored 187.4 PPR points, 20.8 a game, finishing QB24.

He completed 197 of 284 passes for 2167 yards, 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and ran 33 times for 147 yards and 3 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 98 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

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

He completed 323 of 477 passes for 4048 yards, 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, and ran 35 times for 95 yards and 0 touchdowns.

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

Their other Week 7 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 7, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Sam Darnold for Brock Purdy?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Brock Purdy projects 171 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (17.1 a game over 10 games), Sam Darnold 151 (15.1 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Brock Purdy over Sam Darnold.
Should I drop Brock Purdy for Sam Darnold?
No. Keep Brock Purdy: he projects 171 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (17.1 a game over 10 games), Sam Darnold 151 (15.1 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Brock Purdy over Sam Darnold.