Sam Darnold is the most debated quarterback in NFL free agency. How should a GM proceed?
Darnold is coming off the best season of his professional career. He set a career-high in passing yards (4,319), touchdowns (35), completions (361), and completion percentage (66.2). He was also selected to the first Pro Bowl of his career this year.
Per Spotrac, Darnold is rumored to be getting a four-year, 160-million-dollar contract. So, if he had the best season of his career, is he worth a high-end quarterback contract?
Could Darnold be a product of the Vikings system?: The Vikings ended the season with a fourteen and three record, the best Vikings regular season record since nineteen ninety-eight with a fifteen and one record. Was the solid record a product of Darold being the key to the Vikings’ success, or is it the team around him? First, the Vikings have one of the best receiver duos in the NFL. Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison combined for the second most yards as a receiving duo (2,408) and the third most receiving touchdowns (19). Second, per Pro Football & Sports Network, the Vikings’ offensive line was the tenth-best this season. Third, per the NFL, the Vikings finished sixteenth best in the NFL. Darnold has some great talent around him that could’ve elevated his game compared to his starting jobs on the Jets and Panthers.
Photo courtesy A to Z Sports
Can Darnold Handle the “Bright Lights”?: On Oct 21, 2019, the Jets played the Patriots on Monday Night Football and lost 33-0. Famously, during the game on the sideline, Darnold said he was “seeing ghosts.” This year, he saw them again in the most important games of his career. On January 5, the Vikings faced the Lions and lost 31-9. This game would have won the NFC North and the NFC Conference as a whole, giving them a bye week in the first round of the playoffs. Sam Darnold went 18-41 in that game and had 166 passing yards. At one point during that game, Sam Darnold had six incompletions in the red zone across two drives. Two drives that could’ve been two touchdown drives instead of settling for field goals. That’s the first meaningful game he failed to show up for the Vikings. The following week was the wildcard weekend, and the Vikings faced the Rams to go to the divisional round. In this game, Darnold was 25-40, threw for one touchdown, and had 245 yards. He also threw one interception and was sacked nine total times. While you can say Darnold wasn’t entirely responsible for the loss, his poor play the week before put the spotlight on him, and he couldn’t deliver.
Conclusion: Should Sam Darnold be getting his high-end contract? No, I don’t think that he deserves a contract like he’s projected to get yet. He has the potential to be a good starting quarterback in the league, but his inability to perform for his team in big games should make any team hesitant to pull the trigger on signing him. So, if I were a team needing a quarterback, I would give him a one-year deal to prove himself. If he rises to the occasion, he can earn his contract, but if he continues seeing ghosts, he will return to quarterback irrelevance.
