Via Getty Images
Sam Darnold’s time with the New York Jets is officially over.
The Jets announced that they traded Darnold to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a 2021 sixth round pick, as well as second and fourth round picks in 2022. Rewinding back to 2018, if someone were to tell you Sam Darnold would only be the Jets’ starting quarterback for three seasons, would you believe them? Probably not.
Let’s take a look back at Darnold’s time with the Jets, and what went wrong.
The 2018 NFL Draft
The Jets selected Sam Darnold with the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, and in fact, it was stunning that he fell that far. In the days leading up to the draft, Darnold was regarded as the top quarterback prospect, and the expectation by most draft experts was that the Cleveland Browns would select him number one overall. Instead, the Browns opted to draft quarterback Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick, and the New York GIants, who weren’t looking to draft a quarterback at the time, selected running back Saquon Barkley with the second overall pick.
This left Sam Darnold falling right into the Jets’ lap when they were on the clock. The Jets took him with the number three overall pick, and the organization and it’s fans were thrilled.
When the Jets drafted Darnold, he was just 20-years-old at the time. Darnold was the first offensive player the Jets had selected in the first round of the draft since 2009, when they drafted Mark Sanchez number five overall.
Darnold was going to be given the keys to the franchise. He was the guy they’d been in search of since Joe Namath. Finally, they had a franchise quarterback they could build around. Or at least, this was the belief in 2018.
Rookie Season (2018)
Sam Darnold’s NFL career began under the bright lights on Monday Night Football in a road matchup against the Detroit Lions. This was the most highly anticipated Jets game in years, as it was the start of a new era. An era that was expected to be the best in team history.
The Jets received the ball to start the game. On the first play from scrimmage, the Jets ran a play action pass. With Darnold rolling out of the pocket, he decided to throw the ball across his body to the other side of the field, resulting in a pick-six by Lions defensive back Quandre Diggs.
How’s that to start your NFL career?
But, the 21-year-old Darnold had a response in him. He went on to finish the game throwing for 198 yards and two passing touchdowns, leading to a Jets win, 48-17. To say it was an impressive performance was an understatement.
Here’s Sam Darnold with all eyes on him, playing in his first NFL game on Monday Night Football, and his first career pass is picked off and returned for a touchdown. The wheels could have fallen off for Darnold and the Jets in this game. But, Darnold responded, and made an early statement to start his young NFL career. He showcased his composure, a trait that can’t be taught, but something that is extremely important for an NFL quarterback to have.
Darnold’s first six games of his career were up and down, which was expected from a rookie quarterback. The Jets were 3-3, but all of the sudden Darnold’s play was not improving. He was trying to do too much, and the results were that he was turning the ball over a lot. The icing on the cake was a Week 9 matchup with the Miami Dolphins. Darnold threw four interceptions, suffered a foot injury, and the Jets fell 13-6 to the Dolphins, in what was their third-straight loss.
At 3-6, Darnold would sit the next three weeks due to the injury of his foot. It didn’t feel like the worst thing to have the young quarterback sit for a few games and take in the NFL game from a different lens.
Darnold would return from his injury after a three-game absence, and play in the Jets’ final four games of the season. He looked like a totally different quarterback. He showed more confidence, played to his strengths, and made much better decisions. The Jets went 1-3 in these final four games, but Darnold impressed. He threw six touchdown passes, just one interception, and 931 passing yards in the Jets’ final four games of the season.
In total, Darnold finished the season with 2,865 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns, and 15 interceptions in 13 games.
With the way Sam Darnold’s rookie season went, it was a rollercoaster. But, the 2018 season ended feeling like the Jets had their franchise quarterback.
2019 Season
When year two began for Sam Darnold, expectations were pretty high for the Jets. They were coming off of an offseason with some pretty big free agency additions, including high-prized running back Le’Veon Bell, wide receiver Jamison Crowder, and linebacker C.J. Mosley. They also had a new head coach, Adam Gase.
While a majority of the fanbase questioned the hiring of Gase, at the very least, the belief was that the Jets would have a better offense under Gase because he had an offensive background. The hope was that he’d be able to groom Darnold, and help take his play to the next level. Of course, Gase had previously failed to do this with Ryan Tannehill when he was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. But, he was getting another opportunity with the Jets.
The new-look Jets opened up the 2019 season at home against the Buffalo Bills. Unfortunately, Darnold was unimpressive in this game. In what was a mediocre performance, Darnold finished the game throwing for just 175 yards and one passing touchdown. The Jets fell to the Bills 17-16, a game in which they led at one point 16-0 in the second half.
Given Darnold’s underwhelming performance, it seemed like something wasn’t right.
Sure enough, a few days later, it was revealed that Darnold was diagnosed with mononucleosis, and as a result he’d miss a few games. Darnold went on to miss the Jets’ next three games; a three-game stretch in which the offense was an absolute disaster without their young quarterback.
The Jets went 0-3 in Darnold’s absence, and were 0-4 on the year. It felt like the season was already a wash given the unfortunate events that took place, and it was disappointing because of the high expectations surrounding the team.
Either way, Darnold’s highly-anticipated return took place following the Jets’ bye week against the Dallas Cowboys in a Week 6 matchup at MetLife Stadium.
To say Darnold was back was an understatement.
Returning from the three-game absence, Darnold led the Jets to an upset victory over the Cowboys, 24-22. He finished the game with 338 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and one interception.
The highlight of this game was Darnold throwing a 92-yard touchdown pass to Robby Anderson, which gave the Jets a 14-3 lead. After this touchdown, this was just another moment where you felt like the Jets had their franchise quarterback.
The Jets were winless in Darnold’s absence, but he was back to settle down the noise.
The Jets’ next game was at home against the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football, and while it was just one win over the Cowboys, it felt like the team was reenergized at 1-4.
The Jets’ Week 7 matchup against the Patriots was a game to forget for Darnold. The team was totally embarrassed against Tom Brady and the Patriots, losing 33-0 on their home turf. Darnold took massive steps back in this one, finishing the game with a career-low quarterback rating of 3.6, throwing for just 86 yards, no passing touchdowns, and four interceptions.
After one of his interceptions in the first half, Darnold, who was mic’d up for ESPN’s broadcast, was heard on the sideline saying “I”m seeing ghosts.” It was just an overall embarrassing night for Darnold and the Jets as they saw their season slipping away.
The Jets followed this loss to the Patriots with two more losses, two games in which Darnold was simply not good enough. Of course, the offensive line was also doing Darnold no favors, as they were struggling to protect Jets quarterbacks all season. At 1-7 now on the season, there was reasonable concern that head coach Adam Gase was not doing enough to help Darnold’s development.
But, then the switch was flipped.
Darnold went on to lead the Jets to a 6-2 record to finish the season, a stretch in which he played the best football of his career. In these eight games, Darnold threw for 1,947 yards, 13 passing touchdowns, four interceptions, and rushed for two touchdowns.
The Jets ended the season 7-9, but Darnold was leading an offense that made drastic improvements in the second half of the season. Darnold finished the 2019 season with 3,024 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns, and 13 interceptions in 13 games. Of note too was that the Jets had a 7-6 record with Darnold as their starting quarterback in 2019, a sign that he was capable of winning games in the NFL.
Much like the end of the 2018 season, the conclusion of the 2019 season left with you with the feeling that Sam Darnold was the guy for the Jets.
2020 Season
As Sam Darnold headed into year three in the NFL, this was the time where he had to show that he could elevate the play of others around him. If he was truly going to be the franchise quarterback of the Jets, it was time for him to show more consistency and play to his strengths.
We’re talking about an organization that has not been to the playoffs since 2010, and has not had a winning record since 2015. Fans were getting tired of losing. That’s not to say that there was a playoff mandate for Darnold in 2020, but he had to show Jets upper-management that he could be a franchise quarterback.
Unfortunately, Darnold did not do that in 2020.
From the get-go, the 2020 season was a trainwreck for Sam Darnold. The Jets again began the season 0-4 for a second-straight year, and Darnold threw just a total of three touchdown passes in those four games.
Again, it seemed clear that Darnold’s struggles were not all his fault. He had a weak supporting cast around him. The offensive line did not protect him, he didn’t have the playmakers around him on offense, and injuries plagued the team.
But at the same time, this was year three for Darnold. At some point, he has to show that he can elevate the play of others around him, a true quality of a franchise quarterback. After all, we’re talking about a guy who was a former number three overall pick.
After the Jets’ 0-4 start, Darnold went on to miss the next two games due to a shoulder injury. The Jets lost these two games with backup quarterback Joe Flacco under center, and Darnold returned in Week 7. Losses in Week 7 and Week 8 for the Jets put them at 0-8, and despite the limited talent on the roster, this is when there was significant doubt that Darnold was the quarterback of the future for this organization.
What was most concerning about Darnold’s performance in the first half of the 2020 season was that it became clear that he had regressed. Obviously there were plenty of factors that contributed to this; Darnold’s play, the lack of talent around him, and Adam Gase’s offensive system. But, the bottom line was that chatter started to emerge about the Jets drafting a quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft. It seemed like there was a legitimate possibility that the Jets could finish the season 0-16.
In a Week 8 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Darnold re-aggravated his shoulder, resulting in him missing the Jets’ next two games. The team turned back to Joe Flacco, and went on to lose these two games to fall to 0-10 on the season.
Now, the talk of the Jets landing the number one overall pick felt real. It was almost unimaginable that these conversations were emerging, but it was the Jets’ reality. Darnold was not playing at a high enough level, and perhaps it was time to move on. After all, Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, regarded as the best college football prospect in years, was going to be sitting there waiting to be selected number one overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
All of the sudden, with the Jets at 0-10 on the season, it seemed like a majority of the fanbase was all aboard the “Tank-for-Trevor” train. A fanbase that a few months earlier would do anything to defend Darnold was now ready to move on from the 23-year-old quarterback.
Darnold returned from his shoulder injury, and the Jets went on to lose their next three games to fall to 0-13 on the season. Darnold’s play was simply mediocre. He wasn’t “wowing” anymore, the way he did at times during his first two NFL seasons.
At 0-13 and looking like the NFL’s worst team, the Jets still had the Jacksonville Jaguars right behind them in search of that number one overall pick at 1-12. The Jaguars would hold a potential tiebreaker with the Jets if the two teams had the same record because of a weaker strength of schedule, which meant they would have the number one overall pick. It appeared as though the best chance for the Jets to land the number one overall pick was going winless on the season.
Sam Darnold had other plans.
Darnold led the Jets to one of the largest upset wins in NFL history, a 23-20 victory over the heavily-favored Los Angeles Rams on the road. With the Jets winning and another Jaguars loss, New York was no longer in the driver’s seat in the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes.
The Jets followed this win with a second-straight victory, this time at home against a Cleveland Browns team that had a depleted roster due to COVID-related issues. With the Jaguars again losing to fall to 1-14, the Jets, at 2-13, no longer were in the running for the number one overall pick just like that. The Jaguars won the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes, and the Jets were riding a two-game winning streak.
Darnold’s play in these two games was solid. In the two wins, he totaled 382 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and no interceptions. They weren’t overly impressive performances, but at the very least, he was serviceable under center.
After these two wins, the Jets followed it up with a loss on the road against the Patriots to end the season, and Darnold’s performance again was mediocre. There was a feeling going into this game like it could be Darnold’s last game as a member of the Jets, but it was not a sure thing at the time.
Darnold’s 2020 season was the worst of his career. In 12 games, he had career-lows in passing yards (2,208) and passing touchdowns (9). He also threw 11 interceptions.
Either way, the Jets’ 2020 season ended and it felt like the organization was in the middle of a conundrum. Sam Darnold did not take the leaps forward that they thought he’d take in 2021, but at the same time, they did not land the number one overall pick. But, there were still other talented quarterbacks in the 2021 NFL Draft that they could take with the number two overall pick. Should they stick with Darnold, or reset at the quarterback position? This was the question surrounding the Jets all offseason.
A Pivotal Decision is Made
A pivotal decision was made by general manager Joe Douglas and the rest of the Jets organization by trading Sam Darnold to the Panthers. By moving on from Darnold, the Jets are now resetting at the quarterback position. What makes their situation unique is that the jury is still out on Darnold. He may have three seasons under his belt, but Darnold is still young, and the talent is there. There’s still reason to believe he can have a successful NFL career.
The career’s of both Darnold and whichever quarterback the Jets decide to draft will be compared to for years to come. Joe Douglas’ fate as Jets general manager lies on this monumental decision. His choice to move on from Darnold and draft a quarterback will dictate the exact direction of the organization. How Darnold does with the Panthers matters, but not nearly as much as the performance of their future quarterback. And this is all on the shoulders of Douglas.
When one looks back on Sam Darnold’s Jets tenure, all you can wonder is what if? What if they gave him a stronger coaching staff? What if he had a better offensive line? What if he had more talented skills players around him?
Would the results have been better, or was he simply not the answer in New York?
This is what Jets fans are left wondering as they prepare for yet another quarterback to be handed the keys to their organization.
The Mike Report Blog 