It feels not so long ago that former first round pick Sam Darnold was the brand new hope of the Carolina Panthers after formerly being the brand new hope of the team that drafted him in the first round in the New York Jets. While Darnold failed to live up to the expectations in both cases, it’s hard not to give some level of optimism with his newest stint as the likely starter with the Minnesota Vikings.
As we hear more and more about how much the Vikings are in on Sam Darnold, let’s look back on this amazing play from his Jets days. 👀 pic.twitter.com/7cgtRX7amm
— Joshua Cho (@jbchoknows) June 15, 2024
The skillset that got Sam Darnold drafted with the third overall pick in 2018 is still very much present, and at only 27 years old there is still room to grow. It’s fair to say that Darnold in his career as a starter has never been set up to succeed, with his two starting stints being tainted by the putrid coaching of both Adam Gase and Matt Rhule, widely recognized as two of the worst to do it in recent memory.
Despite the lack of coaching and general talent surrounding Darnold, there were still glimpses in his play from time to time, including almost carrying a bad Panthers team to the playoffs in 2022.
Anyone else remember when Sam Darnold was a Fantasy QB1 for like 2 months for the Panthers?pic.twitter.com/tFCGO36pKQ
— Jack Caporuscio (@Caporuscio_Jack) June 15, 2024
The rocket arm, athletic ability, and whip release are all still tools at the disposal of Darnold. With one of the brighter offensive minds in the league as his head coach in Kevin O’Connell, while surrounded by one of the top receiving units in the league, he could experience some stability that he has never known in his career. First Darnold will need to beat out fellow first round pick J.J. McCarthy in training camp, which if his talent holds up he should have little problem doing.
