4 Panthers players who’ll benefit most from Ben McAdoo’s arrival

Sam Darnold – Carolina Panthers QB

There is still some debate as to whether Sam Darnold is going to start under center for the Carolina Panthers in 2022. But considering the team picked up his fifth-year option with a guaranteed $18.85 million, it would be a huge shock if he wasn’t competing for the job in training camp, at the very least.

Ben McAdoo could be hugely influential on Darnold’s future. The likes of Aaron Rodgers and Eli Manning were hugely complimentary of the coach for the way he prepared them during a typical game day week, but it doesn’t appear he was that high on the USC product coming out of college based on his comments in 2018.

"“I think he’s special. He’s obviously a talented guy, he can make plays with his feet. I’d just have a hard time drafting a guy in the first round where you don’t necessarily like the way he throws. I’m gonna be looking at that, trying to fix it, because it’s a fundamental flaw, and I believe in the fundamentals. If I don’t like the way he throws the ball, I have a hard time picking him, right?”"

This flaw, coupled with continued processing and footwork issues, hasn’t exactly developed sufficiently at the next level. McAdoo has his work cut out trying to make Darnold a legitimate starting option if the Panthers don’t acquire additional reinforcements and if the pair hit it off, it could see an upturn in production as a result.

Darnold’s time in Carolina following his trade from the New York Jets hasn’t been what anybody anticipated so far. Simply put, McAdoo’s arrival represents a last chance saloon scenario for the signal-caller providing he gets another shot.