The Minnesota Vikings will face the Los Angeles Rams in Week 8. 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 8?
Darnold is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play on Thursday.
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 8?
After three straight finishes inside the top 10 at the position, this is three straight outside of it, as regression seems to be setting in. Even if you don’t want to regress his efficiency in a major way due to your trust in Kevin O’Connell’s system, the fact that he doesn’t run and has cleared 28 pass attempts just once makes him a bad bet based on math alone.
The Rams offer very little in the way of resistance, and that has Darnold ranked as a low-end QB1 for me this week, a tier I expect him to occupy for the next few games with similarly positive matchups awaiting him (Colts and Jaguars in Weeks 9-10).
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 8 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Sam Darnold’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 8
Darnold is projected to score 19.5 fantasy points in Week 8. This includes 249.7 passing yards, 1.7 passing touchdowns, and 0.9 interceptions. It also includes 5.5 rushing attempts for 19.1 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.
Sam Darnold’s Week 8 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship QB PPR Rankings
1) Josh Allen | BUF (at KC)
2) Jalen Hurts | PHI (vs. WAS)
3) Jayden Daniels | WAS (at PHI)
4) Patrick Mahomes | KC (vs. BUF)
