Sam Darnold
Darnold enters the season as Seattle's clear, healthy starter coming off a strong statistical 2025, but his fantasy ceiling stays capped by how run-heavy and lead-protecting the Seahawks' offense tends to be.
Role
Locked-in QB1 for Seattle's offense, throwing to a talented but thinning receiver room (Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Rashid Shaheed) after Jake Bobo's season-ending ACL tear; he sat out all three preseason games as standard veteran rest for an established starter, not as an injury concern, and there is no competition for the job.
He just posted one of the best real-life QB seasons in franchise history (over 4,000 yards, 67.7% completion, top-5 in the league) with a genuinely talented supporting cast at receiver and tight end, giving him a high floor as a passer if the Seahawks lean on him more.
Fantasy analysts point out he was only QB22 in points per game last season because Seattle led the league in offensive plays run while up seven or more points, meaning the team leans on the run and limits pass volume once ahead, capping his weekly upside regardless of efficiency.
Where analysts split
The disagreement is specifically about game script: whether Seattle's tendency to build big leads and then run out the clock continues to suppress Darnold's pass volume and fantasy production, or whether his individual efficiency and weapon quality let him overcome that this season.
Injury: Out — assessed avoid
Glute injury, out multiple weeks
Confirmed out for Week 3 with a ~4-week recovery timetable on a 'very unique' glute injury; Drew Lock takes over as starter in the interim, so Darnold is unstartable for the near term.
What would change this: Return to practice participation or updated timetable closer to late September
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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