Sam Darnold Fantasy Football Outlook (2024)

By Pat Fitzmaurice (FantasyPros), Thu, Aug 29th 2024, 9:53am EDT

With first-round rookie J.J. McCarthy out for the season with a torn meniscus, Sam Darnold is expected to be the Vikings' starter throughout the 2024, barring injury or a clamitous stumble. Perhaps we shouldn't dismiss the possibility of stumble, given that Darnold's tenures with the Jets and Panthers went poorly. In fairness, Darnold was saddled with mediocre supporting casts for some of his early NFL seasons, and the playcalling of Adam Gase (Jets) and Matt Rhule (Panthers) probably didn't do Darnold any favors either. A healthy dose of skepiticism is probably warranted when assessing Darnold's fantasy value, considering that his 78.3 career passer rating is lower than the career passer ratings for Desmond Ridder (84.1) and Drew Lock (79.5). But Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell is regarded as a passing-game wizard, and Darnold will get to work with the WR duo of Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Darnold also runs a bit, too. No one is drafting him to be a fantasy starter, but Darnold is a potentially useful backup who could become an appealing waiver option at some point this season.