Malik Willis · Sam Darnold · 2026 week 1

Malik Willis or Sam Darnold?

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

Start Sam Darnold — barelyThis one is a coin flip — the projections are within 1 points. The matchup leans Sam Darnold (NE allow the 22nd-most QB points), but you can defend either call.

Player	Wk 1	Proj (PPR)	Matchup	Form L3	Trade value	Status
Malik Willis	@ LV	18.8	18th	15.1	189	healthy
Sam Darnold START	vs NE	19.8	22nd	12.5	379	healthy

QBs vs LV recently: C.J. Stroud 11.5 pts (W16) · Jaxson Dart 25.1 pts (W17) · Shane Buechele 3.9 pts (W18).

QBs vs NE recently: Lamar Jackson 4.7 pts (W16) · Brady Cook 5.2 pts (W17) · Quinn Ewers 9.4 pts (W18).

Who wins a straight-up trade?

Sam Darnold carries the higher trade value — 379 against 189 (a 50% gap). In a one-for-one, the side receiving Sam Darnold gets the most. Momentum: Malik Willis -28 and Sam Darnold +54 over the last 30 days.

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

More QB decisions

Malik Willis or C.J. Stroud?Malik Willis or Cam Ward?Sam Darnold or Jordan Love?Sam Darnold or Kyler Murray?Sam Darnold or Tyler Shough?

Game logs, matchup ranks and form are the 2025 season — 2026 hasn’t kicked off. Projections, schedule and trade values are current 2026 numbers, refreshed nightly.