Sam Darnold Fantasy Football Bust? Surprising Quarterback Rankings

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold revived his career with the Minnesota Vikings, and in doing so, the former USC Trojans signal-caller was one best quarterbacks in fantasy football for the 2024 season. What do the fantasy projections for Darnold look like in 2025?

Despite joining a Seattle offense that threw the ball on 60 percent of snaps in 2024, Darnold is not expected to be one of the top quarterbacks in fantasy football in his first season with the Seahawks.

Fantasy football quarterback rankings sam darnold seattle seahawks minnesota vikings jj mccarth — Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold attends the TGL match between Jupiter Links GC and Atlanta Drive GC at SoFi Center on March 4, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. | GREG LOVETT/PALM BEACH POST / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Sam Darnold's Fantasy Football Projection

Although Darnold was considered a top-10 quarterback in fantasy football in 2024, most projections have Darnold's fantasy projections outside of the top-20 quarterbacks for 2025. ESPN's top-25 ranking does not feature Darnold, and Yahoo Sports has Darnold at No. 26. Is the Seattle quarterback considered a sleeper pick in upcoming fantasy football drafts?

ESPN's Tyler Fulghum chose Darnold as his "bust" at the quarterback position for 2025. Darnold's average draft position on ESPN is 169 at No. 29. Here are the quarterbacks ranked above Darnold:

No. 1 Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
No. 2 Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
No. 3 Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
No. 4 Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
No. 5 Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
No. 6 Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
No. 7 Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
No. 8 Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
No. 9 Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
No. 10 Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
No. 11 Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
No. 12 Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
No. 13 Dak Prescott, Dalls Cowboys
No. 14 Justin Fields, New York Jets
No. 15 Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
No. 16 J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings
No. 17 C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
No. 18 Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
No. 19 Drake Maye, New England Patriots
No. 20 Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans
No. 21 Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
No. 22 Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
No. 23 Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons
No. 24 Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
No. 25 Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
No. 26 Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers
No. 27 Shedeur Sanders, Cleveland Browns
No. 28 Anthony Richardson Sr., Indianapolis Colts
No. 29 Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks

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One of the more interesting results of this ranking is Darnold's replacement, Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy being above the former Trojan without playing a regular season snap in the NFL. Additionally, rookies like Tennessee Titans' Cam Ward and Cleveland Browns' Shedeur Sanders are ranked above Darnold.

Jun 10, 2025; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) practices during minicamp at the Minnesota Vikings Training Facility. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

In 2024, Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels became one of the top fantasy football players regardless of position during his rookie season. Now, Daniels is projected as a top-three quarterback in 2025.

Potential Explanations For Darnold's Ranking

Why is Darnold ranked so low? Seattle's pass-heavy offense might be a positive for Darnold, but the interceptions could be dropping his fantasy football ranking. In 2024, Darnold threw 35 touchdowns with 12 interceptions. He has not played a full season and thrown under 10 interceptions in his career.

Jan 30, 2025; Orlando, FL, USA; NFC wide receiver Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings (18) catches the ball during the Satisfying Catch event at the Pro Bowl Skills Challenge at Nicholson Fieldhouse | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Another possible reason for Darnold's low ranking could be the change in his wide receivers. Most notably, Darnold will not have the luxury of throwing passes to Minnesota wide receiver Justin Jefferson as well as Jordan Addison, a fellow former Trojan himself.

Seattle's receiver corps features Jaxon Smith-Njigba as well as Cooper Kupp, one of the team's biggest additions in free agency.