Should I Pick Up Sam Darnold? Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Football

Heading into Week 2, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold is a trending name when it comes to the fantasy football waiver wire.

Currently rostered in just 10% of fantasy leagues, is Sam Darnold someone fantasy managers should target on the waiver wire?

Read on for the latest waiver wire analysis of Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold.

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Sam Darnold Week 2 Waiver Wire Outlook

This offseason, the Minnesota Vikings added two quarterbacks to the roster, signing Sam Darnold and drafting J.J. McCarthy. It looked like the two would wage a spirited battle for the starting role, but McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury last month, handing the starting role to Darnold.

Thanks to a strong supporting cast, Darnold had an impressive Vikings debut. The former No. 3 overall pick was 19-for-24 for 208 yards and two touchdowns in a 2-6 win over the New York Giants. He was picked off once, sacked once, and added three rushing yards.

That was flat out phenomenal quarterbacking from Sam Darnold. On time, accurate, in charge

— Matthew Coller (@MatthewColler) September 8, 2024

It wasn't the greatest performance, but Darnold showed he can mostly mitigate mistakes and keep the ball moving forward. With Justin Jefferson on the receiving end of his passes to make Darnold look better, does this make him a quarterback who fantasy managers can stream this season?

Should I Pick up Sam Darnold in Week 2?

If you're in a two-QB league and Darnold is still out there on the waiver wire, he's definitely worth adding, as all starting QBs should be rostered in those leagues. But what about one-QB leagues?

Kevin O'Connell drew up some open looks and experimented in the run game for the Vikings, but Sam Darnold also made some nice throws pic.twitter.com/lfqC1sqVMn

— Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) September 9, 2024

Darnold looked solid in his first game as a Viking, but this wouldn't be the first time Darnold's had a good Week 1 and then failed to follow that up with sustained good play. In 2021, Darnold had 279 yards in the opener and three 300-yard games in a row, but he fell off a cliff after that, failing to even hit 200 yards in all but two games.

Until we see if Darnold can continue to deliver efficient performances, he's only worth adding in 14-team leagues or deeper. There's upside based on this Vikings roster, but you aren't going to want to play him in Week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers.

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