Sam Darnold is one of those Quarterbacks. The ones who seemed primed with the endless talent to resurrect a franchise only to fail and be relegated to the island of misfit quarterbacks. Lately however thanks to sustained success from guys like Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield this island does not have to be the final destination. Yet still even the biggest of Darnold’s supporters likely would have told you he was destined for a career as a journeyman backup more so that leading man for another franchise. The NFL rarely gives second chances and this would be Darnolds third. Yet Darnold and his Vikings sit alone 3-0 atop the NFC North, Darnold’s great play is a big reason for that. This may be early season luck or a renaissance, either way it brings about an interesting conversation about Darnold and young quarterbacks in general.
USC has been something of a quarterback factory over the past couple decades whether it’s Palmer, Lienhart, or Sanchez. Darnold is simply the next in line, the next southern cal qb primed to save a franchise. However the reality is those names before him have had mixed success, Palmer was a savior but Lienhart wasn’t and Sanchez depending on who you asked falls somewhere in the middle. This is the wider reality of the first round quarterback. The NFL is a weird occupation where if you are the best at what you do in college you likely end up going to the worst situation. This makes the whole process a crapshoot, after the fact there are always obvious reasons why a certain player succeeds or doesn’t but this is just people trying to make sense of a process that really is more of a gamble than it is a science. The art of evaluating quarterbacks is really just luck.
Darnold was drafted third overall in the 2017 draft class, a draft class where quarterbacks were the name of the game; he went to one of the NFL’s most historic franchises, the Jets. I use the term historic to represent a double edged sword. The Jet’s and their star Joe Namath won perhaps the most important super bowl of all time in super bowl three. This Super Bowl is the greatest moment in Jet’s history and Joe Namath is the greatest Quarterback in Jets history these are facts. The problem with this is when Darnold was drafted that Super Bowl Three win and Joe Namath’s Jet’s career were almost 40 years in the rearview mirror. Darnold was being asked to save a team that had experienced more heartbreak than love. This is a lot to put on a young quarterback mix that with a so-so roster and questionable coaching there is next to no opportunity to truly really succeed.
In an October game in 2019 Darnold concluded an abysmal game in which he threw four interceptions against the New England Patriots by telling the notoriously vicious New York media that he was “Seeing Ghosts.” This for many signals the end of the Darnold era in New York he would start games after but it seemed the franchise was ready to move on. Two years later he was in Carolina and maybe he was still seeing ghosts because Darnold struggled there. It’s likely and fair to assume after the Panthers experiment that Darnold is one of the many Quarterbacks that just didn’t translate from college to the pros. It's a sad reality but one not all that unfamiliar. Darnold’s failures are only highlighted by the fact of what came after him in that draft which was two MVPs in Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. After his uneventful pitstop in Carolina Darnold settled into a one year backup role with the 49ers, a team that Darnold had little effect on the field for but still went to the Super Bowl. There is no shame in this career as a backup in the NFL in fact for quarterbacks it’s kind of a sweet gig. But when 2024 free agency came calling Darnold saw a starting opportunity in Minnesota and took it.
Darnold was back to starting going into training camp but with that came the expectation that first round draft pick J.J McCarthy would likely take reins sooner rather than later. Maybe Darold saw a bit of his past self in Mccarthey all that promise that he had. Darnold may have been a leading man but it likely wasn’t for long until dare I say fate intervened in the form of a season ending injury for McCarthy in a preseason game. So enter Darnold leading man with next to no one at his heels. That brings us to the present day the rare third chance that Darnold seems to be capitalizing on. The quarterback who was once seeing ghost is running coach Kevin O'connell's offense to perfection often finding one of the league's best Justin Jefferson on the other end of his throws. There is a likely peace in this new role. The low expectations Darnold shatters weekly likely is easier than the pressure of resurrecting a franchise which was the expectation of him twice. You can’t help but root for Darnold, he has been through more than we can imagine and it’s fair to be skeptical about how long this whole renaissance might last. I mean Darnold has proved himself untrustworthy, right? I would have to say wrong actually.
Darnold has a chance to become a true encapsulation of the NFL’s biggest problem right now. We expect these young talented kids to succeed in poor situations in places of turmoil. I think if any of us were handed the keys to a failing billion dollar company it’s very possible it would have the same success rate as first round quarterbacks. This statement is not to negate the Ryan Leafs and Jamarucs Russells of the world who the failure is likely more of a reflection of them then the given situation but it’s fair to ask how many careers have been ruined by franchises that simply were always going to be a losing situation. Darnold’s renaissance might signal a change in the NFL. A greater patience with young quarterbacks and more of a willingness to give them time before throwing them to the dogs. I am not overly invested in the success of Darnold as a known Jets hater, I actually rooted for it. But as someone who is watching potentially the same thing happen to Bryce Young I can’t help but hope for a brighter and more patient future for the position. Sam Darnolds renaissance may be an indication that the island of misfit quarterbacks might deserve another look or two. Maybe it’s time to dust off Josh Rosen, or maybe Darnold is enough for now.
Kaleb Unger
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