Sam Darnold: Product of his environment or NFL Draft bust?

Will Sam Darnold excel on the Carolina Panthers?

Sam Darnold’s road to redemption will make or break his career. The quarterback will now attempt to lead the Carolina Panthers back into the postseason to repay the faith shown in the player despite a less than stellar start to his career. So it is going to be extremely interesting to see whether the former first-round pick can make the most out of what will surely be his final chance to secure a long-term starting position.

There were worse spots for Darnold to land. He now has a young head coach in Matt Rhule who has the Panthers believing again, with the signal-caller also benefitting from the presence of Joe Brady as his new offensive coordinator.

Brady was key in transforming Joe Burrow from a mid-round afterthought to the consensus No. 1 overall selection at LSU. If he can even have half that success with Darnold, it will stand the player and the Panthers in good stead.

Darnold also has arguably the NFL’s best dual-threat running back alongside him in Christian McCaffrey, two prominent outside weapons in D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson, with Dan Arnold, David Moore, Keith Kirkwood, Brandon Zylstra, and undrafted free-agent Omar Bayless also set to play roles in 2021.

Couple this with the prospect of improved protection led by stud right tackle Taylor Moton and an elite tackle arriving via the 2021 NFL Draft, it’s hard not to see why Darnold has everything going for him in Carolina.

If he can enjoy a renaissance with an increased level of talent around him, then it will be a shrewd move by the Panthers to bring him on board.