Does trading for Sam Darnold make sense for the Carolina Panthers?
By Dean Jones
Darnold’s potential fit with the Carolina Panthers
Big things were expected of Sam Darnold when he entered the NFL as the No. 3 overall selection in 2018. There have been some nice moments for the quarterback, but a distinct lack of talent around him has been a real problem regarding his development.
Whether the Jets decide to cut their losses and go with Trevor Lawrence is still unclear. But the signal-caller would be incredibly hard to turn down if he does eventually declare for the 2021 NFL Draft.
Transcended talents like Lawrence don’t come around every day. A former general manager and long-standing executive told ESPN senior writer Jeremy Fowler exactly this when discussing the possibility of the Jets going in a different direction.
"“I’d say he’s Andrew Luck. You can’t say no to him (Lawrence). He’s got all the pedigree, great kid, everything. You have to take him. I like Darnold. Darnold, in time, might be a really, really good quarterback. He’s young and promising, but your plan now is, ‘What do we get for Darnold?’ You just kind of move on.”"
Maximizing trade value for Darnold would be key in this situation. This move would no doubt be welcomed by the player given the current state of the organization that drafted him and should the Carolina Panthers decide to go in this particular direction, it does look like a good scheme fit.
Darnold is no stranger to wide receiver Robby Anderson from their time together at MetLife Stadium. This would give Carolina’s coaching staff a real insight into what the signal-caller could bring to the organization and the pair developed nice chemistry before the wideout departed in free agency.
Having the weapons around him that Carolina possesses would be a stark contrast to what Darnold has been used to. And this might actually be the making of him.