Start Drake Maye or Sam Darnold? Week 8

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

Start Drake Maye over Sam Darnold

Start

Drake Maye

QB · NE · at MIA

Market projects: 18.4; recent weeks avg
MIA D vs QB: 20.3; 7th most to QBs (2026)
Upside: High; 88 of 100 at QB
Snap share: 97%; Through Week 7

Sit

Sam Darnold

QB · SEA · vs CHI

Market projects: 16.2; 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

Should I drop Sam Darnold for Drake Maye?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Drake Maye projects 167 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.5 a game over 9 games), Sam Darnold 136 (15.1 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Drake Maye over Sam Darnold.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Drake Maye over Sam Darnold in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Drake Maye at 18.4 points and Sam Darnold at 16.2, a gap of 2.2. No player market is posted for Drake Maye this week yet, so his 18.4 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (16.8, 19.1 and 19.3); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. Drafters take Drake Maye at ADP 50 and Sam Darnold at 155.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Drake Maye yet. His market-based projections were 16.8, 19.1 and 19.3 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 18.4, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for Drake Maye is 0.3 touchdowns (7 market sources).

Player markets imply 16.2 fantasy points for Sam Darnold, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Sam Darnold is 234 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns and 0.2 rushing touchdowns (10, 11 and 8 market sources).

That puts Drake Maye 2.2 points ahead of Sam Darnold on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Drake Maye and NE visit MIA on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

MIA allowed 20.3 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 6 games, the 7th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 236 yards and 2.3 touchdowns a game against MIA, with 0.7 interceptions a game.

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.

By points allowed to the position, Drake Maye has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Drake Maye is not on the injury report.

Sam Darnold is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Drake Maye played 97 percent of NE snaps, dropped back 249 times and threw an average of 9.1 air yards per attempt.

Drake Maye, Week 4 against BUF: 76 of 76 snaps, 22 of 37 passes for 269 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, 6 carries for 56 yards.

Drake Maye, Week 5 against LV: 75 of 75 snaps, 26 of 34 passes for 374 yards, 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 4 carries for 29 yards.

Drake Maye, Week 6 against NYJ: 68 of 68 snaps, 18 of 32 passes for 235 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 3 carries for 25 yards.

Drake Maye, Week 7 against CHI: 54 of 54 snaps, 24 of 30 passes for 321 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, 4 carries for 26 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, Drake Maye played 17 games for NE and scored 360.0 PPR points, 21.2 a game, finishing QB2.

He completed 354 of 492 passes for 4394 yards, 31 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, and ran 103 times for 450 yards and 4 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 97 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 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 Drake Maye?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Drake Maye projects 167 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.5 a game over 9 games), Sam Darnold 136 (15.1 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Drake Maye over Sam Darnold.
Should I drop Drake Maye for Sam Darnold?
No. Keep Drake Maye: he projects 167 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.5 a game over 9 games), Sam Darnold 136 (15.1 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Drake Maye over Sam Darnold.