We’ve called Sam Darnold a lot of names during his eventful seven-year career, with “bust” being one of the most common.
Maybe in 2024 it will be time to declare Sam Darnold a fantasy football league winner.
Darnold certainly played a role in Sunday’s win over Atlanta, mauling the Falcons for 347 yards and five touchdown passes. It was Darnold’s fourth straight game with multiple TD passes and zero interceptions. He is currently the QB1 on the Week 14 rankings and is assured of his seventh spot in the Top 10 at the position. Darnold is bankable almost every week.
Darnold spreads the goodness of fantasy to his prime targets. Jordan Addison (8-133-3) caught three of those Darnold touchdowns on Sunday, Justin Jefferson (7-132-2) the other two. That’s the narrow target tree we know and love. Addison chased up 35.3 fantasy points on the day (the WR1), while Jefferson scored 28.7 points (the WR2).
Darnold’s season has been all about chunk play and consistency. He came in with a juicy 8.2 YPA on Sunday and that number was a robust 12.4 on Sunday. He has scored over 100 in 11 of 13 starts. There is a floor here that matches the top.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell is one of the best passing game designers in the league and certainly deserves a lot of credit for Darnold’s breakout. We’ve seen KOC perform miracles before. But maybe the timing was finally right with Darnold. He was poorly supported during his time with the Jets and Panthers. Maybe he learned some important things that one year in San Francisco when he barely played.
To be fair, Atlanta’s secondary was one of the green matchups on the slate. The schedule is (theoretically) becoming more difficult to complete, although next week’s opponent, Chicago, is currently being torched by the 49ers. After that it’s Seattle and Green Bay. At least two games are at home.
But this is an infrastructure I’m willing to bet on. Jefferson often looks like the best receiver in football and Addison – a Biletnikoff winner in college – has to be one of the best WR2s. TJ Hockenson (4-45-0 Sunday) is a credible third piece. And the consistency we talked about allows fantasy managers to sleep at night.
Minnesota, of course, moved on from Kirk Cousins this offseason. He didn’t do well in Sunday’s rematch. Oh, the Falcons moved the ball a lot, but Cousins threw two picks and didn’t have a touchdown pass for four straight games. This offense crushes your soul every week.
Darnell Mooney (6-142-0) made the most of seven goals and Drake London (5-70-0) was decent, although we wanted more from his ten chances. Kyle Pitts has disappeared from the offense (1-14-0). Atlanta’s coaching staff continues to back Cousins, but it makes you wonder what needs to happen for Michael Penix Jr. gets a chance. Sure, they pay Cousins that exorbitant salary, but they also used a first-round pick on Penix. This is why most teams don’t throw heavy resources at more than one quarterback.
Perhaps a trip to Vegas will help Cousins find his groove in Week 15. The Giants and Commanders visit next.
Remark: I will continue to add the week 14 analysis as Sunday progresses.