New York Jets fans and the rest of the NFL world are in love with the comeback story of Sam Darnold, who was almost an outcast in the NFL and ruled a bust. Sam Darnold is setting a prime example of what resilience, perseverance, and determination look like, as Sam Darnold’s NFL journey has been far from just an easy walk through a yellow brick road. Through the highs of being drafted 3rd overall by the Jets in 2018, to the lows of seeing ghosts on Monday night football against the Patriots, then a tumultuous two years with the Carolina Panthers, to now leading the Seattle Seahawks to Super Bowl LX, being the first QB from the 2018 Draft class to lead his team to the Super Bowl.
Yes, he did go to the Super Bowl in 2024, but as a backup for the San Francisco 49ers. This time, as the starter for the Seattle Seahawks, he qualified as the first QB from his draft class to reach the Super Bowl. All before Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield, and Lamar Jackson could even play a snap in the biggest game of the year.
Before being drafted by the Jets in 2018, Darnold was envisioned as the future Jets QB way before selecting him 3rd overall, as fans and the media were campaigning for Darnold with the “Suck for Sam” chant, hoping the Jets would tank for the no.1 pick to select Darnold. I remember even seeing a Jets fan wearing a no.14 jersey with Darnold taped to the back of the jersey during a USC game during the 2017 season. The 2017 season was thought to be a tank year for the Jets, as many thought they’d go 0-16, but they wound up playing competitively throughout the season with Josh McCown playing arguably the best football of his career. As the season went on, they were playing in close games where they were 5-7 at one point, before McCown suffered a broken left hand injury in a week 14 loss against the Denver Broncos, resulting in the Jets finishing the season going 5-11.
Then Jets GM Mike Maccagnan had to trade up with the Indianapolis Colts to the no.3 spot in the 2018 draft to better position the Jets to take a rookie QB, rather than sit with anxiety at the no.6 spot. During draft day of the 2018 season, rumors started swirling that Baker Mayfield or Josh Allen would be the choices for the no.1 pick, leaving Sam Darnold to slide to the Jets. With Baker going no.1, Darnold slid right to no. 3, with the Jets selecting him as the future of the New York Jets.
Over the course of his Jets tenure, it was filled with mixed emotions. His rookie year was like the Kingda Ka roller coaster as Darnold had his rookie struggles with consistency and injuries, but then he would show signs of his potential in games against the Colts and the Broncos, then played phenomenal in weeks 14-16, squaring off against quarterbacks like rookie Josh Allen, Deshaun Watson, and Aaron Rodgers. After firing Todd Bowles after the season, the Jets then decided to hire former Miami Dolphins head coach Adam Gase, who had a fall-out with Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and wasn’t a successful coach in Miami. The move was shocking, since they interviewed Mike McCarthy for the job, which would’ve been a slam dunk of a hire, but the Jets thought Gase would be the guy to unleash Darnold’s potential, which would be the start of his downfall with the Jets.
To top it off, going back to the first mistake with the Jets lack of continuity, the worst thing that the New York Jets could’ve done was firing GM Mike Maccagnan in the middle of May after making all the offseason moves for the 2019-20 season. The Jets should’ve started from scratch in firing both Bowles and Maccagnan. Having Maccagnan make all those off-season moves like signing Levon Bell and CJ Mosley, then draft the whole 2019 class, just to fire him weeks later, is puzzling and confusing. Rumors of a rift between Gase and MacCagnan were then swirled about them not being on the same page, adding to the dysfunction that already was there in Florham Park, NJ. So Darnold is already put in a bad spot as both his head coach and general manager are fired after one year with Darnold, showing the lack of continuity with him and uncertainty within the organization from a leadership standpoint.
Over the next two years, Darnold never really lived up to his third overall pick potential under Gase. His sophomore season had glimpses of hope, but the rest was mediocre play as the coaching or players surrounding him didn’t really help him reach that potential. The season is, of course, scarred by the “Seeing Ghosts” game where Darnold was mocked on national television. The Jets managed to finish 7-9, but didn’t do much to improve the roster in the 2020 offseason.
Season three for Sam Darnold would be an utter disaster as he regressed tremendously. He wasn’t really set up for success as he was playing behind a weak offensive line and no offensive playmakers, as his top wideouts were Breshad Perriman and Chris Hogan, while his top running back was an aging Frank Gore. Injuries also hampered his season, along with consistency issues, all leading to the Jets falling to 2-14, getting their last win in week 15 in an upset against the Los Angeles Rams. The season was rough for Darnold, considering that fans and the media were ready for the Jets to tank for Trevor Lawrence, adding to the pressure Darnold didn’t need.
As a result, the Jets would trade Darnold to the Carolina Panthers for a 2021 sixth-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick, and a 2022 fourth-round pick, ending his time in New York, leaving fans thinking what could’ve been and asking themselves if this was the right decision.
After a rocky two years in Carolina, Darnold would find his way as a backup for the San Francisco 49ers under head coach Kyle Shanahan, who is known for being one of the best offensive minds in the league. For Darnold, it would be a great place to settle down and find himself as a player under a coaching staff that is known for getting the best out of their players and great offensive scheming.
He would then sign with the Minnesota Vikings as their starting QB. The Vikings would then draft JJ McCarthy, as the goal would be for him to sit for at least a year and have Darnold operate the offense in the meantime. Under Vikings head coach Kevin O’ Connell, Darnold played the best football he’s ever played. He played like the quarterback was supposed to be coming out of USC. The offense was tailored to make Darnold succeed. Darnold was able to read defenses and time everything perfectly. O’Connell’s coaching philosophy in letting it rip and giving the quarterback all the confidence to run the offense benefited Darnold. Also, having playmakers like Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Aaron Jones, and playing behind a great offensive line will do wonders for any quarterback. As a result, Sam Darnold finished with a TD/INT ratio of 35/12 while throwing for 4,319 yards, all career highs by the way. Unfortunately, Darnold was only looked at for the last two games of the season. Losing in week 18 against the Detroit Lions for the NFC North title and the no.1 seed, along with an abysmal playoff performance against the Los Angeles Rams, hurt Darnold’s stock. The Vikings only looked at those two games as reasons not to re-sign Darnold, along with the Vikings prioritizing JJ McCarthy as they thought he was ready after one-year. Darnold would’ve also been more expensive to re-sign compared to JJ McCarthy’s rookie contract.
The Seahawks would then take advantage of the opportunity and sign Darnold to a 3-year, $100 million deal. Making it known he is their QB1, committing all that money to him. Originally, the Seahawks wanted to retain Geno Smith, but Smith wanted out and requested to be traded to the Raiders to play under Pete Carroll. That’s what’s great about the NFL, and just in life in general. It makes you wonder “What If”, and it prompts us to question what if Geno stayed in Seattle? Where would Sam Darnold have signed? It would soon pay off tremendously for both Seattle and Darnold as the Seahawks would finish with a 14-3 record with Darnold starting all 17 games, posting a 25-14 TD/INT ratio, and posting 4,048 passing yards. Darnold has flourished under OC Klint Kubiak as the offense shows off Darnold’s strengths, with him running under center with play action plays, and having him throw on the run. The offense has made him process defenses and be more decisive as a QB. Darnold has also found success playing with offensive playmakers such as Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The Seahawks took a gamble trading away DK Metcalf, betting that JSN would step in as the WR1, and it sure paid off. Darnold has also played behind a great offensive line that has provided great protection while commanding a tremendous running attack with running backs Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. The Seahawks defense has also taken the league by storm as they finished ranked 1st in overall DVOA, 1st in run defense DVOA, and 2nd in pass DVOA. In the end, with Darnold playing in a great offensive system and an insane defense, the Seahawks would find their way playing in Super Bowl LX this upcoming Sunday.
Sam Darnold’s story should not go unnoticed for a while. Darnold has been through the wringer as he was once a scapegoat, almost an outcast, and a backup. All because he wasn’t put in the right situation coming out of USC in 2018. We can’t just expect QBS to come in and light up a franchise right away; they need the supporting pieces around them to succeed. Darnold’s successful right now because of the coaching staff he’s been around, the offensive players he’s been surrounded by, functional environments, and the trust and confidence in your QB. For the Jets, if they can learn from this, for when they next draft their franchise QB, don’t set up your QB to fail. Have the right coaching in place and let go of any dysfunction. Also, have the best players around your QB so they have something to work with, or else it’s going to be just a repetitive cycle of dysfunction for the Jets.
In terms of Sam Darnold, his journey should be a lesson not to give up on yourself, either in life or as an athlete. When life throws your curveballs, do not give in to the negativity. For Darnold to have taken all the criticism about his play and still have the confidence and determination to prove everyone wrong, along with his humbleness about it all, speaks volumes to the person he is. It has all paid off as he’s finally playing up to his potential and is playing for a chance to lift the Lombardi trophy.