Sam Darnold
NFL player. Position: QB. Team: SEA.
Quick Facts
- Position: QB
- Team: SEA (Seattle Seahawks)
- Bye week (2026): 11
- FantasyPros PPR rank (pulled 2026-05-21): 137
2026 Outlook
Darnold returns for his second Seahawks season under the same Kyle Shanahan-based offensive system, but with a new voice at OC: Brian Fleury, whom Darnold knows from his 2023 season in San Francisco as the 49ers' backup. Fleury spent seven years with San Francisco and is well-versed in the Shanahan system that stems from Mike Shanahan's 1990s Denver offenses—the exact lineage Kubiak also ran (per [[Seahawks going to the 49ers for new OC; Seattle's QB coach going to Raiders]]). This familiarity should smooth the transition from Kubiak and preserve the offensive continuity that powered Seattle's Super Bowl run.
Fleury emphasized continuity in his first media appearances: "There's not many things to fix" and the offense will look "very similar to the one that just won the Super Bowl." Both Fleury and Macdonald aligned on maintaining the "fast, violent, aggressive" culture and principles (per [[Brian Fleury's, Mike Macdonald's theme for new Seahawks OC: Continuity in style]]). However, a potential shift to a two-back approach (49ers ran two-back 45% vs Seahawks' prior 24%) may modestly reduce Darnold's pass volume but should stabilize overall offensive execution. Darnold's mid-season improvement on short/mid-range improvised plays suits Fleury's system. First-time play-caller status is mitigated by Fleury's intensive film preparation and diverse NFL experience (Bills, Browns, Dolphins, 49ers).
Role / Depth Chart
(filled in by ingest — starter, backup, committee, snap share trend)
Injury Status
(filled in by ingest — current status, recovery timeline if applicable)
Recent News
- 2026-05-20 — Fantasy football rankings 2026: Sleepers, breakouts, busts via model that nailed... ([[Fantasy football rankings 2026: Sleepers, breakouts, busts via model that nailed...]])
- 2026-03-20 — 2026 NFL Offseason: The Biggest Need for Every NFC Team After Early Free Agency ([[2026 NFL Offseason: The Biggest Need for Every NFC Team After Early Free Agency]])
- 2026-05-21 — NFC offseason grades: Giants and Rams understand the assignment; NFC North leaves us... ([[NFC offseason grades: Giants and Rams understand the assignment; NFC North leaves us...]])
- 2026-02-22 — Seahawks teammate of Sam Darnold shares hopeful statement to fans after his surgery ([[Seahawks teammate of Sam Darnold shares hopeful statement to fans after his surgery]])
- 2026-05-16 — Seahawks insider reveals why Zach Charbonnet’s best case is still bad ([[Seahawks insider reveals why Zach Charbonnet’s best case is still bad]])
- 2026-02-20 — Ranking the offensive play callers ([[Ranking the offensive play callers]])
- 2026-05-21 — 2026 NFL Preview: The 10 New Coordinators Who Could Shape Upcoming Season ([[2026 NFL Preview: The 10 New Coordinators Who Could Shape Upcoming Season]])
- 2026-03-04 — QB predictions for every NFL team: From Malik Willis sweepstakes to Flacco’s next stop... ([[QB predictions for every NFL team: From Malik Willis sweepstakes to Flacco’s next stop...]])
- 2026-05-18 — 2026 NFL Win Totals: Over/Unders For All 32 Squads ([[2026 NFL Win Totals: Over/Unders For All 32 Squads]])
- 2026-02-25 — Predicting all 32 NFL starting quarterbacks for 2026 season ([[Predicting all 32 NFL starting quarterbacks for 2026 season]])
Open Questions
(scoped to this player — pulled from [[Fantasy Football Open Questions]])
Sources
(receipts — every claim above should link to a source here)