Jayden Daniels · Sam Darnold · 2026 week 3

Jayden Daniels or Sam Darnold?

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

Start Jayden Daniels — barelyThis one is a coin flip — the projections are within 0.2 points. The matchup leans Jayden Daniels (IND allow the 3rd-most QB points), but you can defend either call.
PlayerWk 3Proj (PPR)MatchupForm L3Trade valueStatus
Jayden Daniels START vs IND 16.7 3rd · soft 16.2 432 Out
Sam Darnold @ WAS 16.5 2nd · soft 0.5 421 healthy

QBs vs IND recently: Lamar Jackson 25 pts (W1) · Patrick Mahomes 29 pts (W2).

QBs vs WAS recently: Jalen Hurts 24.7 pts (W1) · Dak Prescott 29.8 pts (W2).

Who wins a straight-up trade?

Jayden Daniels carries the higher trade value — 432 against 421 (a 3% gap). In a one-for-one, the side receiving Jayden Daniels gets the most. Momentum: Jayden Daniels -2465 and Sam Darnold +133 over the last 30 days.

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

More QB decisions

All numbers are the 2026 season, refreshed nightly.