I have a very high standard for QB outlooks after their rookie year. The sky is the limit w this guy.He throws w touch,anticipation & is very decisive.And thats just in the pocket. What sets him apart from Ryan & stafford as a prospect is what he can do outside the pocket in terms of improvising,spacial awareness & an instinct for making big plays. Hes like Joe Montana & steve young combined w a linebacker’s build. Hes clutch, short term memory & has a great understanding of what defenses are trying to do to stop him. Now hes still rounding out his game in terms of combining the in the pocket Game w improvising outside the tackle box.I expect it to take another year & their maybe sime rotten performances this coming year as he continues to figure things out. Its like a young top flight point guard Trying to learn to be a scorer & distributor all in one. The biggest obstacles will be surrounding cast,not throwing w a proper base and his game never being properly moulded as referenced above.He has a very strong arm,notch below elite but he doesnt always display it bc he doesnt throw w a good base & was learninng on the fly after changing his release. I wanna see him throwing darts w more velocity come minicamp w that. Same touch & accuracy we saw last year.His accuracy is no joke absolutely top notch..id say better than Stafford & potential to be better than Matt Ryan
I have confidence that he has the most potential of any QB that the Jets have had on this team since I've been alive. So we'll see where that goes.
Assuming he stays healthy, and the Jets surround him with talent, he'll be the best the Jets have had since Namath.
If I started a thread like this someone would try to suffocate me with a pillow like Hyman Roth in Havana.
Sam Darnold can bend steel in his bare hands, leap tall buildings in a single bound and he's faster than a locomotive. Sadly he can't save the Jets.
How far Sam goes will depend on how well the Jets support him. Not trying to have a Capt. obvious moment, but all the talent in the world won't mean shit if Macc doesn't improve on his drafting and FA acquisitions. Its not like we have anyone in the organization that has any experience building successful teams. When you have Chris Johnson as the smartest football guy in the organization, Sam's future, even with his talent, is in question as the organization itself is still a work in progress.
To answer the thread title: Yes. Sam gives me the confidence he is the savior and franchise QB of the Jets. Matt Ryan is a former NFL MVP and Matthew Stafford has had a solid career in Detroit, so despite the pessimism from @Brook!, that is still high praise for Darnold. I think he can be an Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees type. My only concern is the Jets putting the right pieces around him. The NFL is a team sport. You can only do so much by yourself, especially at the QB position. Here is a list of QB's I would currently take over Sam headed into the 2019 season: -Aaron Rodgers -Patrick Mahomes That's it. I'll take my chances with Darnold.
I'm excited about Darnold, but it will be meaningless if the Jets don't fix the oline and get some talent around him. It's nice to not have to worry about a QB for once, but please don't Sanchez him.
Don't get me wrong, I like Darnold. But the homerism is strong in this thread. We've seen so much bad QB play for so long that Darnold seems like a HOFer by comparison, but he has a long way to go to reach top-tier status. Yes, if he can consistently throw darts from the pocket while keeping his turnovers in check, then his playmaking skills will make him elite. But there's no guarantee he can do that.
Saviour...no, but I believe he's going to be an excellent QB for us for years to come. Our success relies more on the team they put around him.
No homerism from me. It’s what I actually think. He was the best QB I saw in college over the last 3-4 years. I didn’t see Mahomes a lot but I watched every other top QB over that stretch a LOT and he was the best. I was Suck for Sam for 2 years and never thought we’d be fortunate enough to get him. So if he were drafted by another team I’d feel the exact same way about him and I’d once more be lamenting our plight.
Too early to tell. I will say that with the spending spree they're about to go on this March, more high draft picks, the Gase hire if the Jets aren't at least playing in a Super Bowl within the next five years something went terribly wrong. The countdown has begun.
He has the 2 most important abilities a great QB needs. He has the ability to feel pressure and move slightly while keeping his eyes downfield. He also seems to be able to process information very quickly during a play. His ceiling is the best QB in the league. But there are many questions. Will he stay healthy. How well will he learn to read defenses. Will he get a decent OL and supporting cast. No QB in the league last year threw in worse situations than Darnold did last year. He was constantly throwing in 3rd and long situations with very bad protection. There is no guarantee but what he did this last year in an extremely challenging enviorment has to make everyone optimistic. The future appears very bright. But being a 50 year Jet fan I have learned that we always do not have the best luck. So here is hoping that we surround him with a much better OL, some improved skill players and that he is able to stay healthy.
“Let’s finish the fucking game, put a dagger in their heart. Let’s fucking go. This is where we end games. We’re going to get really fucking good at this, man.”
That’s Tom Bonanza. The RB we drafted in 2021 who went on to rush for 2200-plus yards seven straight years winning six Super Bowls for the Jets. He and Sam Darnold would go on to be the subject of a feature film called “Sam and Tom”.
