Sam Darnold

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Sam Darnold finished last season as a top-six fantasy quarterback. Yes, it was in Minnesota and he is now in Seattle, and yes he was atrocious in the playoffs. Let’s look at that second statement first. How bad was he against the Rams? Memory says awful. The numbers alone aren’t terrible. The playoff record nine sacks, one fumble returned for a touchdown and inability to deal with pressure were the problem. In context it wasn’t as bad as the game he saw ghosts against the Patriots. Preceding the Rams game, he had an eight-game stretch where he recorded 18 touchdowns, only two interceptions and averaged 271 yards passing a game. Seattle saw enough regular-season form to make him their starter. Ranking him so low seems like a gift for fantasy managers to get a terrific bargain and a value fantasy backup. If he plays like he did for 90% of 2024, he could even be a fantasy starter. Darnold has proven himself resilient and bounced back from all sorts of obstacles.

"Don't look at 2024 as the new baseline, but understand he's only 27 years old and proved last year he belongs."

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Darnold leaves a team with a great primary receiver and joins a team that arguably has a great WR2 and strong WR2/WR3. Seattle's deep threat is a "throw-2-get-1-caught" option who won't earn the level of respect to generate great offense.

Maybe it works out, but I don't think we see Darnold reach 4,500 yards and 30 scores. He'll come close enough to offer match-up value, but this is an odd receiver room that I'm watching with interest.