C.J. Stroud · Sam Darnold · 2026 week 9

C.J. Stroud or Sam Darnold?

Wondering who you should start this week — C.J. Stroud or Sam Darnold? The start/sit call and the numbers behind it are below, plus who wins a straight-up trade. Rebuilt nightly.

Start C.J. Stroud — barelyThis one is a coin flip — the projections are within 0.4 points. The matchup leans C.J. Stroud (LAC allow the 26th-most QB points), but you can defend either call.

Player	Wk 9	Proj (PPR)	Matchup	Form L3	Trade value	Status
C.J. Stroud START	@ LAC	17.8	26th · tough	20.5	624	healthy
Sam Darnold	@ LV	17.4	5th · soft	15.5	189	Out

QBs vs LAC recently: Bo Nix 7.9 pts (W5) · Patrick Mahomes 11.5 pts (W6) · Matthew Stafford 9.3 pts (W8).

QBs vs LV recently: Josh Allen 18.3 pts (W6) · Matthew Stafford 18.5 pts (W7) · Geno Smith 19 pts (W8).

🎓 The coach's read

Projections are 0.4 apart — too close to call on projection alone.
C.J. Stroud faces LAC, 26th most generous to QBs.
Sam Darnold faces LV, 5th most generous to QBs.
Sam Darnold is flagged OUT.

Who wins a straight-up trade?

C.J. Stroud carries the higher trade value — 624 against 189 (a 70% gap). In a one-for-one, the side receiving C.J. Stroud gets the most. Momentum: C.J. Stroud +355 and Sam Darnold -351 over the last 30 days.

Open in Start/Sit (any scoring) Open in the Trade Analyzer

More QB decisions

C.J. Stroud or Jordan Love?C.J. Stroud or Tyler Shough?C.J. Stroud or Matthew Stafford?Sam Darnold or Bryce Young?Sam Darnold or Aaron Rodgers?Sam Darnold or Kyler Murray?

All numbers are the 2026 season, refreshed nightly.