• Start Sam Darnold: Every quarterback who faces the Jacksonville Jaguars and doesn’t suffer an injury ends up as a fantasy starter.

• Sit Javonte Williams: The Denver Broncos running back has seen his playing time decline in recent weeks, and he won’t get to run much against the Kansas City Chiefs.

• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ subscription: Get full access to all our in-season fantasy tools, including weekly rankings, WR/CB matchup charts, weekly projections, the Start-Sit Optimizer and more. Sign up now!

Estimated Reading Time: 14 minutes

Deciding who to start or sit in fantasy football can be as simple as checking PFF’s rankings and choosing the higher-ranked player. This start-sit column goes a step further, examining why a typical starter might struggle in a given week or why an overlooked player could perform well. While usual starters often remain the best choices, we also focus on those borderline players worth considering.

Click here to jump to a position:

QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST | K

QUARTERBACKS

START

Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings

Darnold has averaged the 12th-most fantasy points per game this season (17.9). He has finished as the QB16 or better in every game this season, outside of his matchup against the New York Jets, despite a relatively difficult schedule for quarterbacks. Darnold has two top-10 finishes against top-10 defenses and has yet to face a defense in the top quarter of allowing fantasy points to quarterbacks until this week.

The Vikings play the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have allowed the most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. The only quarterback who didn’t finish in the top 12 against Jacksonville was Jordan Love, who suffered an injury in the contest. Darnold should have one of his best games of the season, as most quarterbacks do when facing Jacksonville.

DOMINATE FANTASY FOOTBALL & BETTING WITH AI-POWERED DATA & TOOLS TRUSTED BY ALL 32