The Carolina Panthers have their new quarterback in Sam Darnold, who now gets to prove his worth away from the New York Jets.
It didn’t come as much of a surprise to see the Carolina Panthers bring in another veteran quarterback before the 2021 NFL Draft. Failed bids for Matthew Stafford and Deshaun Watson were well documented and their search finally ended with a move to acquire Sam Darnold from the New York Jets.
This represents a risk whichever way one looks at it. The Panthers gave up three draft selections over the next two years in the hope Darnold can turn his career around, with the team set to get one selection back if they trade Teddy Bridgewater in the not-too-distant future.
Carolina is going to pick up Darnold’s fifth-year option, which gives them a considerable period of time to work out whether he is the man to lead them moving forward. If things don’t work out, at least they gave the player every opportunity to rid himself of the stereotypes that blighted his time with the Jets.
The former No. 3 overall selection has a tremendous amount going for him from a skill standpoint. Darnold has a rocket for an arm and has no trouble making plays on the move when things aren’t developing as expected. However, there is the obvious concern regarding a lack of production that cannot be ignored and it’s going to take a substantial turnaround in a different environment for the USC product to start trending in the right direction.
Everything is in place for Darnold to succeed providing the Panthers get a franchise left tackle during the draft. But the question remains; was the signal-caller simply a product of his environment in New York, or is he yet another high-end bust?
Sam Darnold’s career so far
To say things haven’t gone according to plan for Sam Darnold during his career so far would be something of an understatement. The New York Jets were expecting big things from the quarterback after selecting him at No. 3 overall in 2018. But just three years after the move, they were willing to give him away in favor of BYU sensation Zach Wilson.
General manager Joe Douglas has freely admitted the Jets didn’t do enough to get Darnold the help he needed. The protection in front of him was nothing short of an abomination and although the player should have done better from a clean pocket, the lack of confidence in his offensive line is a huge factor that simply can’t be understated.
Darnold was sacked 98 times in 38 games with the Jets – an average of 2.57 per game. He was hurried 175 times and pressured on 362 occasions over his three-year stint at MetLife Stadium.
Couple this with a lack of prominent playmakers, no prolific running back to provide assistance, and a head coach in Adam Gase who was out of his depth from the moment he stepped onto the podium in his introductory press conference, the odds were clearly stacked against the quarterback.
What comes next for Darnold will be vital. But he can take great heart from the fact plenty of other former Jets are thriving elsewhere, including Robby Anderson on the Carolina Panthers.
Darnold has to hit the ground running, of that there is little doubt. However, he is walking into a pretty good situation with progressive young coaches and a significant amount of weapons to call upon.
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.