Assessing Sam Darnold’s best practice of Panthers training camp so far
By Dean Jones
How Sam Darnold looked on Wednesday
It didn’t take long for Sam Darnold to impose himself on Wednesday’s practice. The quarterback was assured during early red-zone drills, linking up with his receivers well for multiple scores.
One play, in particular, saw Darnold find his old teammate Robby Anderson on a sideline route for a nice touchdown.
This is a trend that continued throughout the session. Darnold was assured in his decision-making and also took command of the huddle impressively to further enhance his overall influence.
He was helped by an improved day for the offensive line, who also had their best day so far. If they can live up to their end of the bargain, then Darnold has everything in place to make a real go of things with the Carolina Panthers.
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The rapport Darnold is clearly building with Dan Arnold is also something worth noting. Getting production from the tight end position was a struggle for the Panthers in 2020 and if the free-agent signing improves things from a pass-catching point of view, it’s yet another weapon in a pretty formidable arsenal for the signal-caller.
Darnold’s production has noticeably improved since pads went on. This normally brings about an increased sense of urgency, but the quarterback’s adjustment to this stage of camp has been smooth.
And long may this continue.