4 early Sam Darnold observations from Panthers training camp

Sam Darnold has the arm strength

One thing that cannot be disputed where Sam Darnold is concerned would be his arm strength. This is something that’s really come across over the first few days of Carolina Panthers training camp.

It hasn’t all been a bed of roses for Darnold. He is still working on finding the right timing with his passing game tools – which is to be expected at this stage of the preparation period – but there have been some memorable highlights that leave plenty of reasons to be encouraged.

Darnold has far more velocity on his throws than Carolina had at any stage last season with Teddy Bridgewater under center.

This isn’t only evident on downfield throws, which the Panthers have been working a ton on. But also over the short-to-intermediate routes that get the football to its preferred location at the earliest possible opportunity.

Obviously, much more than arm strength is needed to become a productive quarterback.

Darnold must get other areas of his game up to speed over the next few weeks. But having someone that can push the ball downfield quickly and efficiently is an X-factor not many teams in the league are blessed with.