Sam Howell

FanDuel Salary: $6,000
FanDuel Salary: $6,000

Sam Howell named Commanders' Week 18 starter

Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Sam Howell will start Week 18 against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, head coach Ron Rivera announced.

What It Means:

Howell will start in his NFL debut and Taylor Heinicke will be the backup. Carson Wentz is expected to be a healthy scratch. In three preseason games, Howell completed 43 of 69 attempts for 547 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also rushed 13 times for 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Howell showed some sneaky fantasy potential in the preseason, with a 10.3-yard average depth of target and the rushing production, but he will have a much tougher opponent in Week 18. The Cowboys have the No. 5 pass defense and No. 3 overall defense in numberFire's season-long adjusted team rankings. Dallas is also allowing the seventh-fewest FanDuel points per game to the quarterback position this season.