Start C.J. Stroud or Sam Darnold? Week 6

Our Week 6 call

Start C.J. Stroud over Sam Darnold in Week 6.

Market-based projections have C.J. Stroud at 16.9 points and Sam Darnold at 14.6, a gap of 2.2.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 16.9 fantasy points for C.J. Stroud, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for C.J. Stroud is 257 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns, 10 rushing yards and 0.1 rushing touchdowns (12, 14, 12 and 13 market sources).

Player markets imply 14.6 fantasy points for Sam Darnold, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Sam Darnold is 224 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns, 5 rushing yards and 0.1 rushing touchdowns (14, 14, 13 and 12 market sources).

That puts C.J. Stroud 2.2 points ahead of Sam Darnold on the market projections.

Injury status

C.J. Stroud is not on the injury report.

Sam Darnold is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 6

Through Week 5, C.J. Stroud played 100 percent of HOU snaps, dropped back 202 times and threw an average of 9.8 air yards per attempt.

C.J. Stroud, Week 2 against CIN: 80 of 80 snaps, 30 of 53 passes for 353 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 3 carries for 29 yards.

C.J. Stroud, Week 3 against IND: 54 of 54 snaps, 16 of 27 passes for 167 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 10 yards.

C.J. Stroud, Week 4 against DAL: 55 of 55 snaps, 21 of 29 passes for 347 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 12 yards.

C.J. Stroud, Week 5 against TEN: 66 of 66 snaps, 26 of 34 passes for 261 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 4 carries for 7 yards.

Through Week 5, Sam Darnold played 81 percent of SEA snaps, dropped back 110 times and threw an average of 6.7 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.

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.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, C.J. Stroud played 14 games for HOU and scored 216.5 PPR points, 15.5 a game, finishing QB21.

He completed 273 of 423 passes for 3041 yards, 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, and ran 48 times for 209 yards and 1 touchdown.

He was on the field for 93 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 6 calls

• Start C.J. Stroud over Aaron Rodgers.
• Start C.J. Stroud over Bo Nix.
• Start Brock Purdy over C.J. Stroud.
• Start Aaron Rodgers over Sam Darnold.
• Start Bo Nix over Sam Darnold.
• Start Brock Purdy over Sam Darnold.