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. Critically, the Seahawks retained OL coach John Benton with a promotion to senior offensive assistant—a retention of the coach most responsible for the team's dramatic offensive line improvement in 2025 (declared by GM John Schneider as the team's most improved unit). Benton's mastery of the outside-zone blocking system provides continuity in execution (per Mike Macdonald's 2026 Seahawks coaching staff, and how they kept John Benton).

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).

Darnold's Super Bowl-winning 2025 season stands as a powerful example of how early draft-season skepticism about QB prospects is often wrong. Despite a previously doubted resume entering the Seahawks system, he led Seattle to a championship—a stark reminder that the draft's loudest voices often miss badly on QB evaluations. (per Fernando Mendoza should be doubted -- and 'perfect' QB can prove haters wrong by beating Dan Orlovsky)

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

2026-05-28 — Eagles 2026 schedule: Game-by-game predictions for Philadelphia (Eagles 2026 schedule: Game-by-game predictions for Philadelphia)
2026-02-15 — Raiders name Andrew Janocko Offensive Coordinator (Raiders name Andrew Janocko Offensive Coordinator)
2026-05-18 — Gutierrez: A first-time OC, Andrew Janocko comes to the Raiders with history in mind (Gutierrez: A first-time OC, Andrew Janocko comes to the Raiders with history in mind)
2026-02-15 — Seahawks going to the 49ers for new OC; Seattle’s QB coach going to Raiders (Seahawks going to the 49ers for new OC; Seattle’s QB coach going to Raiders)
2026-02-15 — Sources: Seahawks expected to hire 49ers' Brian Fleury as OC (Sources: Seahawks expected to hire 49ers' Brian Fleury as OC)
2026-05-28 — SI's 2026 Ranking of the NFL’s Coach-QB Duos (SI's 2026 Ranking of the NFL’s Coach-QB Duos)
2026-05-14 — Los Angeles Rams 2026 schedule: Tough opening stretch highlights primetime-heavy slate... (Los Angeles Rams 2026 schedule: Tough opening stretch highlights primetime-heavy slate...)
2026-05-17 — 2026 NFL Schedule Release: 5 Storylines To Watch In Rams-Seahawks Christmas Game On FOX (2026 NFL Schedule Release: 5 Storylines To Watch In Rams-Seahawks Christmas Game On FOX)
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)
2026-04-29 — Revisiting most impactful draft-day trade for 32 NFL teams (Revisiting most impactful draft-day trade for 32 NFL teams)

Open Questions

(scoped to this player — pulled from Fantasy Football Open Questions)

Sources

(receipts — every claim above should link to a source here)