NFL
By: Edwin Duodu
He’s finally free. Sam Darnold is no longer a New York Jet. His trade to the Carolina Panthers occurred Monday, sending Darnold for a six-round pick this year and a second and fourth in the 2022 draft. Pretty decent haul for a quarterback who was statistically among the worst in the last couple of seasons. Darnold was drafted in 2018 to be the savior of the team. Three years later, they’re pushing the reset button again and looking forward to most likely drafting another quarterback in the first round. If this happens, or when it happens, the Jets would be the first in the common draft era to select a quarterback within the first three picks twice in four years. This is not a recipe for sustained success, as the Jets also do not have a first-round drafted player on the roster in the last eight years outside of Mehki Becton and Quinnen Williams. Sam Darnold was the last one left. But was his production on the field because of his vision and play as a quarterback?
Sam Darnold has talent. No one is questioning his mobility in the pocket, arm strength, poise, and the professionalism he demonstrated while in New York. However, we can’t ignore the stats, regardless of his supporting cast. As a quarterback, he has shown flashes of greatness. But if Darnold were destined to be great, even he would’ve put on more consistent displays while leading the team. This is what led to him being the worst quarterback last season based on passer rating. Darnold regressed in the 2020 season badly, throwing nine touchdowns compared to 11 interceptions. He also ranked 35th in passing yards per game. There are 32 teams in the league. He also had his fair share of durability problems. There was an ankle injury his rookie year, a random contraction of mononucleosis during his sophomore season, and a shoulder injury last year. All in total, he missed ten games in three seasons. The Jets were 0-10 in those games, producing historically bad numbers as an offense. However, the impact when he started games was minimal in the grand scheme of things. The offense still struggled to generate points and sustaining drives consistently.
Many might say that he had little to no help during his tenure as a Jet, which he didn’t. Darnold’s supporting cast ranked in the bottom half of the league in terms of the offensive line, wide receivers, and running backs positions. Additionally, Darnold received no help from his former general manager, Mike Maccagnan, who could be classified as the real culprit for all this turmoil. Maccagnan chose the route of overspending for free agents, which only brought short-term success. Once he drafted Darnold, the team was long-ridden from its 10-6 talent in 2015. He also preceded to hire Adam Gase, probably in consideration for one of the worst moves in franchise history. Adam Gase was a lackluster head coach and play-caller who did him no favors in playing to his strengths. Gase was fired at the end of the 2020 season, and his team came close to finishing with a record of 0-16. Miraculously, the team won two out of its last three games, lost out on the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes, and here they are, owning the second overall pick. That was enough incentive for current general manager, Joe Douglass, to make a move and ship out a quarterback who needed a fresh start.
In situations where an organization has a new general manager, a new head coach, and a new offensive coordinator, it’s hard to imagine them sticking with a player who hasn’t produced well enough on the field in the past seasons. The team is resetting the clock. Picking up Darnold’s fifth-year option, which is projected to be $18.9 million, wouldn’t have been a part of the plan. The new regime wants their guy. Whether that’ll be Zach Wilson or Justin Fields will remain to be seen. Although Douglass has accumulated all these picks, they mean nothing if he doesn’t hit on any of them. For now, he has a golden chance to build this team into a contender in the next couple of seasons. As for Sam Darnold, he gets a fresh start in Carolina. He goes from Adam Gase to Joe Brady and a better supporting cast in Robby Anderson, D.J. Moore, and a healthy Christian McCaffrey. Darnold should be better in all categories. If not, he may not get another opportunity to compete for a starting job again.
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