Jake Browning vs Sam Darnold: Who Should You Start?
Two quarterbacks who will land on plenty of the same rosters in 2026. Jake Browning (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) finished the 2025 season averaging 11.3 fantasy points per game in 5 games. Sam Darnold (Seattle Seahawks) came in at 14.7 PPG over 17 games. The gap is real but not insurmountable with the right matchup.
Sam Darnold carries a 3.4-point PPG advantage from the 2025 season. That baseline matters, but it is one input among several. Matchup difficulty, scoring trends, and injury reports move the needle week to week, which is why the best answer changes depending on when you are asking.
Both lean on arm talent and offensive scheme as traditional pocket passers. Jake Browning threw for 771 yards and 6 touchdowns, while Sam Darnold posted 4048 yards and 25 scores. Volume, red zone efficiency, and game script are the key week-to-week differentiators when neither carries rushing upside.
Jake Browning has his bye in Week 11, and Sam Darnold rests in Week 10. Managers rostering both need waiver wire depth at quarterback for those two weeks, and that is exactly the kind of planning DraftCall's matchup engine surfaces automatically so you are not scrambling on a Sunday morning.
