Fantasy Football

Sam Darnold

QB - MIN

Height: 6-3

Weight: 225 lbs

Age: 27

College: USC

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2024 Season Outlooks

Darnold is expected to start for the Vikings for the foreseeable future following the season-ending knee surgery for rookie J.J. McCarthy. In six seasons, Darnold has never completed more than 62% of his passes, never threw for more than 232.6 yards per game, never had more than 19 touchdowns in a season, never had an interception rate lower than 2.1% and has 17 games with two-plus passing touchdowns in 56 starts. If there's a case to be made for Darnold, it's that Josh Dobbs and Nick Mullens had really good numbers in some of their starts with Minnesota last year. It's easier to bank on Darnold given the Vikings' wideouts and playcaller, but his history of disappointing play can't be overlooked. He's fine as a low-end QB2 in SuperFlex leagues but shouldn't be on anyone's roster in one-QB leagues.

Darnold signed with the Vikings this offseason, his fourth team in five years, after backing up Brock Purdy in San Francisco last season. With rookie J.J. McCarthy set to miss his rookie season, Darnold is in line to make a majority (if not all) starts for Minnesota this season. Of course, in his six seasons in the league, Darnold has never appeared in more than 13 games, nor has he finished higher than QB28 in fantasy points. Perhaps Kevin O'Connell and a good group of targets can lead Darnold to a surprise breakout season, but he's not worth drafting in standard ESPN leagues.