Week 18 Fantasy Football Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: Sam Darnold Vs. Bryce Young
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Fantasy football managers will rely heavily on quarterback production in Week 18, as the NFL regular season comes to a close. With some notable quarterbacks around the league set to rest in Week 18, managers could be forced into difficult start-sit decisions coming into the week, especially among Saturday’s slate of action. The San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks will play for the NFC West title, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers will match up for the NFC South crown to kick off Week 18 action.
Bryce Young and Sam Darnold make one of the toughest start-sit decisions at the quarterback position for Week 18, with both quarterbacks set to suit up for Saturday’s slate. Young and Darnold will each command immense attention with both signal-callers’ teams competing for division championships, but which player makes the better case to start for Week 18 fantasy lineups?
The Case For Sam Darnold
While his production has dipped at times this season due to inconsistency, Sam Darnold has pieced together some of the top single-game performances of any quarterback this season. The Seahawks’ starter ranks top-seven in the league in both passing yards and passing touchdowns, throwing for multiple scores in eight games this season. To this point of the season, Darnold has completed 67.2% of her passes for 3,850 yards and 25 touchdowns with 14 interceptions.
Turnovers have remained a concern for Darnold, who has thrown the third-most interceptions of any quarterback in the league thus far this season, but his fantasy production throughout the year helps build a compelling case to start in Week 18. He enters Week 14 ranked as QB14 in fantasy scoring, a trend of output that projects to continue against San Francisco’s 25th-ranked pass defense.
The Case For Bryce Young
A quiet Week 17 performance ended a solid streak of production for Bryce Young, who threw for 10 touchdowns over his previous five games leading up to last week’s game. The quarterback’s rise has played a notable role in Carolina’s 2025 campaign, looking to cap the season off with a playoff berth against Tampa Bay in Week 18. The Buccaneers’ 26th-ranked pass defense presents a favorable matchup for Young and the Panthers’ passing attack, as the quarterback looks to continue his career-best production.
Through 15 games, Young has completed 63.2% of his passes for 2,745 yards and 21 touchdowns with 10 interceptions, posting career-highs in completion percentage, passing touchdowns and passer rating, and is on pace to surpass his previous career-high in passing yards. The star quarterback will look to bounce back with the season on the line, looking to secure the first division title of his career.
The Final Verdict
Considering both quarterback’s successes and struggles during the season, I’m going to pick Darnold over Young for Week 18 fantasy lineups. I feel Darnold presents both a safer floor and elevated ceiling compared to Young, as both signal-callers gear up for favorable matchups on paper. Darnold is the league’s fifth-leading passer and has produced an encouraging volume of touchdown production, something that can’t be said for Young in Carolina’s offense to this point of the season. Coming off a 57-yard day against Seattle’s defense in Week 17, it’s difficult to pick Young over Darnold at this point in the year.
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Ethen Hutton is a MLB, WNBA, College, and Fantasy contributor at On SI. Previously, he's covered the NBA, WNBA and NFL for Sportskeeda. Hutton is also a passionate fantasy football player and an immense music lover.