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Start Sam Darnold or Deshaun Watson? Week 9

Updated Nov 3, 4:36 AM ET.

Start Deshaun Watson over Sam Darnold

Start

Deshaun Watson

QB · CLE · at NO

Market projects
15.2
recent weeks avg
NO D vs QB
17.8
15th most to QBs (2026)
Snap share
100%
Through Week 8
Sit

Sam Darnold

QB · SEA · vs ARI

Market projects
15.2
recent weeks avg
ARI D vs QB
22.7
3rd most to QBs (2026)
Snap share
89%
Through Week 7

Should I drop Sam Darnold for Deshaun Watson?

Not on these numbers alone. Sam Darnold projects 122 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (15.3 a game over 8 games) and Deshaun Watson 126 (15.8 a game over 8 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 9 the call starts Deshaun Watson over Sam Darnold.

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Our Week 9 call

Start Deshaun Watson over Sam Darnold in Week 9.

Market-based projections have Deshaun Watson at 15.2 points and Sam Darnold at 15.2, a gap of 0.1. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Deshaun Watson this week yet, so his 15.2 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 6, 7 and 8 (16.9, 13.5 and 15.3); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Sam Darnold this week yet, so his 15.2 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 6, 7 and 8 (14.6, 15.1 and 15.8); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 9 player market is posted for Deshaun Watson yet. His market-based projections were 16.9, 13.5 and 15.3 points in Weeks 6, 7 and 8, an average of 15.2, which stands in until his Week 9 market posts.

No Week 9 player market is posted for Sam Darnold yet. His market-based projections were 14.6, 15.1 and 15.8 points in Weeks 6, 7 and 8, an average of 15.2, which stands in until his Week 9 market posts.

That puts Deshaun Watson 0.1 points ahead of Sam Darnold on these projections.

Week 9 matchups

Deshaun Watson and CLE visit NO on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

NO allowed 17.8 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 15th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 250 yards and 1.6 touchdowns a game against NO, with 0.6 interceptions a game.

Sam Darnold and SEA host ARI on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

ARI allowed 22.7 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 3rd most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 244 yards and 2.4 touchdowns a game against ARI, with 0.4 interceptions a game.

By points allowed to the position, Sam Darnold has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Deshaun Watson is not on the injury report.

Sam Darnold is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 9

Through Week 8, Deshaun Watson played 100 percent of CLE snaps, dropped back 306 times and threw an average of 7.2 air yards per attempt.

Deshaun Watson, Week 5 against NYJ: 68 of 68 snaps, 15 of 33 passes for 155 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, 6 carries for 40 yards.

Deshaun Watson, Week 6 against BAL: 62 of 62 snaps, 16 of 26 passes for 164 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 8 carries for 29 yards.

Deshaun Watson, Week 7 against TEN: 70 of 70 snaps, 25 of 36 passes for 308 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception, 3 carries for 19 yards.

Deshaun Watson, Week 8 against PIT: 27 of 39 passes for 324 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 3 yards.

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.

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.

Their other Week 9 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 9, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

  • Should I drop Sam Darnold for Deshaun Watson?

    Not on these numbers alone. Sam Darnold projects 122 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (15.3 a game over 8 games) and Deshaun Watson 126 (15.8 a game over 8 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 9 the call starts Deshaun Watson over Sam Darnold.

  • Should I drop Deshaun Watson for Sam Darnold?

    Not on these numbers alone. Deshaun Watson projects 126 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (15.8 a game over 8 games) and Sam Darnold 122 (15.3 a game over 8 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 9 the call starts Deshaun Watson over Sam Darnold.

Should I drop Deshaun Watson?

Week 8 on the board

Elsewhere on the board