Start Bryce Young or Sam Darnold? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 11:56 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Sam Darnold over Bryce Young

Start

Sam Darnold

QB · SEA · vs CHI

Market projects: 17.5; fantasy pts
CHI D vs QB: 19.9; 10th most to QBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 34 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 89%; Through Week 7

Sit

Bryce Young

QB · CAR · at GB

Market projects: 16.6; fantasy pts
GB D vs QB: 14.3; 5th fewest to QBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 16 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 94%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Sam Darnold for Bryce Young?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Bryce Young projects 169 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.9 a game over 10 games), Sam Darnold 136 (15.1 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Sam Darnold over Bryce Young, 17.5 to 16.6 projected PPR points. So make the move after his Week 8 game.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Sam Darnold over Bryce Young in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Sam Darnold at 17.5 points and Bryce Young at 16.6, a gap of 1.0. 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. Drafters take Sam Darnold at ADP 155 and Bryce Young at 212. 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 market projects

Player markets imply 17.5 fantasy points for Sam Darnold, with 70 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Sam Darnold is 233 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns and 0.2 rushing touchdowns (9, 10 and 8 market sources).

Player markets imply 16.6 fantasy points for Bryce Young, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Bryce Young is 251 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns, 10 rushing yards and 0.1 rushing touchdowns (13, 14, 13 and 13 market sources).

That puts Sam Darnold 1.0 points ahead of Bryce Young on the market projections.

Week 8 matchups

Sam Darnold and SEA host CHI on Monday at 8:15 PM ET.

CHI allowed 19.9 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 10th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 241 yards and 1.6 touchdowns a game against CHI, with 0.6 interceptions a game.

Bryce Young and CAR visit GB on Thursday at 8:15 PM ET.

GB allowed 14.3 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 5th fewest in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 223 yards and 1.3 touchdowns a game against GB, with 1.3 interceptions a game.

By points allowed to the position, Sam Darnold 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 8

Through Week 7, Sam Darnold played 89 percent of SEA snaps, dropped back 196 times and threw an average of 7.0 air yards per attempt.

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.

Sam Darnold, Week 7 against KC: 69 of 69 snaps, 20 of 28 passes for 257 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 2 carries for 17 yards.

Through Week 7, Bryce Young played 94 percent of CAR snaps, dropped back 250 times and threw an average of 8.8 air yards per attempt.

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.

Bryce Young, Week 7 against TB: 43 of 56 snaps, 14 of 27 passes for 163 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, 1 carry for 9 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 8 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 8, 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 169 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.9 a game over 10 games), Sam Darnold 136 (15.1 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Sam Darnold over Bryce Young, 17.5 to 16.6 projected PPR points. So make the move after his Week 8 game.
Should I drop Bryce Young for Sam Darnold?
No. Keep Bryce Young: he projects 169 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.9 a game over 10 games), Sam Darnold 136 (15.1 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Sam Darnold over Bryce Young, 17.5 to 16.6 projected PPR points.

Should I drop Bryce Young?