Start Bryce Young or Sam Darnold? Week 3

Our Week 3 call

Start Sam Darnold over Bryce Young in Week 3.

De-vigged player props project Sam Darnold at 17.9 points and Bryce Young at 17.5, a gap of 0.4. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Both numbers are scaled up from a partial market: the books have not posted every stat the position needs, so the rest is estimated from what they have. Market coverage on Sam Darnold is 70 percent of what his position needs, so the market side of this carries proportionally less weight.

What the books imply

Player prop markets imply 17.9 fantasy points for Sam Darnold, with 70 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The books have Sam Darnold at 1.5 passing touchdowns (3 books).

Player prop markets imply 17.5 fantasy points for Bryce Young, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The books have Bryce Young at 223.5 passing yards, 1.5 passing touchdowns and 14.5 rushing yards, with a 17% chance to score a touchdown (13, 16, 14 and 15 books).

That puts Sam Darnold 0.4 points ahead of Bryce Young on the books.

Injury status

Sam Darnold is listed as questionable.

Bryce Young is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 3

Through Week 1, Sam Darnold played 10 percent of SEA snaps, dropped back 3 times and threw an average of 7.5 air yards per attempt.

Sam Darnold, Week 1 against NE: 5 of 50 snaps, 1 of 2 passes for 13 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

Through Week 2, Bryce Young played 92 percent of CAR snaps, dropped back 80 times and threw an average of 9.2 air yards per attempt.

Bryce Young, Week 1 against CHI: 61 of 68 snaps, 23 of 37 passes for 361 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, 2 carries for 10 yards.

Bryce Young, Week 2 against ATL: 62 of 66 snaps, 23 of 36 passes for 287 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 6 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

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.

Sam Darnold, Week 18 of 2025 against SF: 69 of 69 snaps, 20 of 26 passes for 198 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 6 carries for 9 yards, 8.8 PPR points.

Sam Darnold, Week 17 of 2025 against CAR: 66 of 66 snaps, 18 of 27 passes for 147 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 3 carries for 2 yards, 7.1 PPR points.

In 2025, Bryce Young played 16 games for CAR and scored 229.0 PPR points, 14.3 a game, finishing QB19.

He completed 304 of 478 passes for 3011 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and ran 54 times for 216 yards and 2 touchdowns.

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

Bryce Young, Week 18 of 2025 against TB: 51 of 51 snaps, 24 of 35 passes for 266 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, 2 carries for -1 yards, 17.5 PPR points.

Their other Week 3 calls

• Start Sam Darnold over Aaron Rodgers.
• Start Sam Darnold over Cam Ward.
• Start Dak Prescott over Sam Darnold.
• Start Bryce Young over Bo Nix.
• Start Bryce Young over C.J. Stroud.
• Start Bryce Young over Deshaun Watson.