Start J.J. McCarthy or Sam Darnold? Week 10

Our Week 10 call

Start J.J. McCarthy over Sam Darnold in Week 10.

Sam Darnold is listed out on the injury report, so this is not a close call: start J.J. McCarthy.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 16.0 fantasy points for J.J. McCarthy, with 100 percent of the markets a QB needs posted.

The market-based projection for J.J. McCarthy is 212 passing yards, 1-2 passing touchdowns, 19 rushing yards and 0.2 rushing touchdowns (13, 14, 12 and 12 market sources).

No Week 10 player market is posted for Sam Darnold yet. His market-based projections were 15.1 and 15.8 points in Weeks 7 and 8, an average of 15.4, which stands in until his Week 10 market posts.

That puts J.J. McCarthy 0.6 points ahead of Sam Darnold on these projections.

Week 10 matchups

J.J. McCarthy and NYG host WAS on Thursday at 8:15 PM ET.

WAS allowed 20.6 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 7 games, the 3rd most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 258 yards and 2.1 touchdowns a game against WAS, with 0.6 interceptions a game.

Sam Darnold and SEA visit LV on Sunday at 4:05 PM ET.

LV allowed 20.6 fantasy points a game to QBs this season over 8 games, the 5th most in the league.

Quarterbacks threw for 251 yards and 2.3 touchdowns a game against LV, with 0.8 interceptions a game.

By points allowed to the position, J.J. McCarthy has the softer matchup.

Injury status

J.J. McCarthy is listed as questionable with a undisclosed injury.

Sam Darnold is listed as out with a quadriceps injury.

Usage before Week 10

Through Week 9, J.J. McCarthy played 49 percent of NYG snaps, dropped back 75 times and threw an average of 11.5 air yards per attempt.

J.J. McCarthy, Week 5 against WAS: 5 of 89 snaps, 0 of 0 passes for 0 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 2 carries for 2 yards.

J.J. McCarthy, Week 6 against NO: 31 of 77 snaps, 11 of 17 passes for 243 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 2 carries for 26 yards.

J.J. McCarthy, Week 7 against HOU: 61 of 66 snaps, 20 of 27 passes for 252 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 1 carry for 1 yards.

J.J. McCarthy, Week 9 against PHI: 51 of 67 snaps, 12 of 19 passes for 127 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 3 carries for 23 yards.

Through Week 8, Sam Darnold played 90 percent of SEA snaps, dropped back 235 times and threw an average of 6.9 air yards per attempt.

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.

Sam Darnold, Week 8 against CHI: 63 of 63 snaps, 17 of 34 passes for 188 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, 2 carries for 20 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, J.J. McCarthy played 10 games for MIN and scored 137.4 PPR points, 13.7 a game, finishing QB30.

He completed 140 of 243 passes for 1632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, and ran 37 times for 181 yards and 4 touchdowns.

He was on the field for 94 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 10 calls

• Start Aaron Rodgers over J.J. McCarthy.
• Start Brock Purdy over J.J. McCarthy.
• Start J.J. McCarthy over Bryce Young.
• Start Bryce Young over Sam Darnold.
• Start Geno Smith over Sam Darnold.
• Start Jordan Love over Sam Darnold.