The Minnesota Vikings will face the Seattle Seahawks in Week 16. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding QB Sam Darnold.
Is Sam Darnold Playing in Week 16?
Darnold is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Vikings’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Sam Darnold in Week 16?
The Seahawks boast an average pass defense by any measure, and that makes this a reasonable bounce-back spot for Darnold as he comes off of his first game in a month without multiple touchdown passes.
The 2024 version of Darnold is essentially 2023 Brock Purdy in that he has a strong supporting cast and is excelling, for the most part, at pulling the right levers at the right time.
He’s a low-end QB1 for me this week, with the thought being that we get the traditional 250 passing yards and two scores.
That stat line is fine if the rest of your team offers plus upside.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 16 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Sam Darnold’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 16
As of Sunday morning, Darnold is projected to score 20 fantasy points in Week 16. This includes 258.8 passing yards, 1.6 passing touchdowns, and 1 interceptions. It also includes 5.5 rushing attempts for 20.4 yards and 0.3 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Lions' Defense
The massive spate of injuries to the Detroit Lions defense will remain the team's biggest question mark heading into the playoffs. Thanks to a disastrous start in the team's Week 17 Monday night contest at the San Francisco 49ers, the Lions posted a 60.2 (D-) grade, their worst over the past two seasons.
The scary thing is that things could have been much worse. Detroit had the second-worst EPA-per-play average in the first half of any defense in Week 17 (-0.56) but improved to a more reasonable (but still woeful) -0.15 in the second half.
The pass defense has become a major concern. Monday night saw Detroit record a 29.5% pass defense success rate. That's the second-lowest by any team in a game this year, with the Lions being on the other end of the worst game (Jacksonville Jaguars had a 24.3% pass defense success rate in Week 11 when the Lions scored 52 points).
This unit is a major concern in its current state, though the likes of Alex Anzalone and Carlton Davis could return in the playoffs. The Lions sorely need to hold serve at home in Week 18 vs. the Vikings and buy a week off for its ailing roster, which had its bye week way back in Week 5.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Sam Darnold’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 7:00 AM ET on Sunday, January 5. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Week 18 Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 18 QB PPR Rankings
1) Lamar Jackson | BAL (vs. CLE)
2) Jayden Daniels | WAS (at DAL)
3) Baker Mayfield | TB (vs. NO)
4) Joe Burrow | CIN (at PIT)
5) Sam Darnold | MIN (at DET)
6) Jared Goff | DET (vs. MIN)
7) Jordan Love | GB (vs. CHI)
8) Bo Nix | DEN (vs. KC)
9) Kyler Murray | ARI (vs. SF)
10) Justin Herbert | LAC (at LV)
11) Drake Maye | NE (vs. BUF)
12) Bryce Young | CAR (at ATL)
13) Russell Wilson | PIT (vs. CIN)
14) Geno Smith | SEA (at LAR)
15) Caleb Williams | CHI (at GB)
16) Aaron Rodgers | NYJ (vs. MIA)
17) Joe Flacco | IND (vs. JAX)
18) Michael Penix Jr. | ATL (vs. CAR)
19) Mason Rudolph | TEN (vs. HOU)
20) Aidan O'Connell | LV (vs. LAC)
21) Mac Jones | JAX (at IND)
22) Tanner McKee | PHI (vs. NYG)
23) Kenny Pickett | PHI (vs. NYG)
24) Cooper Rush | DAL (vs. WAS)
25) C.J. Stroud | HOU (at TEN)
26) Drew Lock | NYG (at PHI)
27) Jimmy Garoppolo | LAR (vs. SEA)
28) Carson Wentz | KC (at DEN)
29) Davis Mills | HOU (at TEN)
30) Tyler Huntley | MIA (at NYJ)
31) Joshua Dobbs | SF (at ARI)
32) Spencer Rattler | NO (at TB)
33) Mitchell Trubisky | BUF (at NE)
34) Taylor Heinicke | LAC (at LV)
35) Bailey Zappe | KC (at DEN)
36) Dorian Thompson-Robinson | CLE (at BAL)
37) Sam Howell | SEA (at LAR)
38) Josh Allen | BUF (at NE)
Vikings at Lions Trends and Insights
Minnesota Vikings
Team: Since the start of 2022, Minnesota has played two more games and won two more wins than any other team in games decided by a single score.
QB: Sam Darnold has 12 multi-pass touchdown games this season; only Joe Burrow has more (13).
Offense: Sunday was the third time this season that Minnesota has averaged over 40 yards per drive (they are 8-0 when averaging 32+ yards per drive).
Defense: Green Bay picked up 57.1% of their third downs against Minnesota last weekend, the highest rate the Vikings have allowed this season.
Fantasy: Jordan Addison ranks sixth among receivers with at least 75 targets this season in production over expectation (+28.9%, just ahead of Ladd McConkey and Ja’Marr Chase).
Betting: Minnesota is 4-1-1 ATS in their past six road divisional games.
Detroit Lions
Team: The Lions currently have a +200 point differential. Nine teams in the 2000s finished a regular season with such a mark—none of them won the Super Bowl.
QB: Jared Goff stands alone at the top of the NFL in terms of games with at least three touchdown passes and zero interceptions (six; Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow are the only others with more than three).
Offense: Jahmyr Gibbs is now one touchdown away from tying the franchise record (Jamaal Williams and Barry Sanders currently hold the mark with 17).
Defense: Detroit allowed 55.4 yards per drive on Monday night, their worst defensive showing of the season.
Fantasy: Sam LaPorta has three straight games with 100 yards or a touchdown catch -- he had three such games all season prior to this run.
Betting: After a run where they covered eight straight home divisional games, the Lions are just 1-3-1 in their past five such spots.