Start Sam Darnold or Bryce Young? Week 7

Updated Oct 20, 8:46 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Sam Darnold over Bryce Young

Start

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

Sit

Bryce Young

QB · CAR · vs TB

Market projects: 16.0; recent weeks avg
TB D vs QB: 15.3; 10th fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Moderate; 58 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 97%; Through Week 6

Should I drop Sam Darnold for Bryce Young?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Bryce Young projects 182 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (16.5 a game over 11 games), Sam Darnold 149 (14.9 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Sam Darnold over Bryce Young. So make the move after his Week 7 game.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Sam Darnold over Bryce Young in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Sam Darnold at 16.5 points and Bryce Young at 16.0, a gap of 0.5. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. 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 Bryce Young this week yet, so his 16.0 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 6 (15.7 and 16.3); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. Drafters take Sam Darnold at ADP 155 and Bryce Young at 212.

What the market projects

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).

No Week 7 player market is posted for Bryce Young yet. His market-based projections were 15.7 and 16.3 points in Weeks 4 and 6, an average of 16.0, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

The market-based projection for Bryce Young is 0.2 touchdowns (3 market sources).

That puts Sam Darnold 0.5 points ahead of Bryce Young on these projections.

Week 7 matchups

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.

Bryce Young and CAR host TB on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

TB allowed 15.3 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 6 games, the 10th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 238 yards and 1-2 touchdowns a game against TB, with an interception a game.

By points allowed to the position, Bryce Young has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Sam Darnold is not on the injury report.

Bryce Young is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

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.

Through Week 6, Bryce Young played 97 percent of CAR snaps, dropped back 217 times and threw an average of 9.2 air yards per attempt.

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.

Bryce Young, Week 3 against CLE: 77 of 77 snaps, 26 of 47 passes for 291 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception.

Bryce Young, Week 4 against DET: 75 of 75 snaps, 29 of 41 passes for 329 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 7 yards.

Bryce Young, Week 6 against PHI: 79 of 79 snaps, 20 of 39 passes for 281 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 8 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.

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.

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 Bryce Young?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Bryce Young projects 182 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (16.5 a game over 11 games), Sam Darnold 149 (14.9 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Sam Darnold over Bryce Young. So make the move after his Week 7 game.
Should I drop Bryce Young for Sam Darnold?
No. Keep Bryce Young: he projects 182 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (16.5 a game over 11 games), Sam Darnold 149 (14.9 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Sam Darnold over Bryce Young.