By Darryl Slater | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The Jets on Saturday held the second practice of their three-day rookie minicamp. Sunday's practice is closed to reporters, but we were able to watch the first two practices. So how did the Jets' new quarterback, Sam Darnold, look in his first NFL action? Let's give you a Darnold rookie minicamp report card here.

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Remember, these were just two practices ... and Darnold's first two. So let's not make any sweeping judgments yet. But based on what we saw at these two practices, this is what we thought.

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FOOTWORK

GRADE: A

ANALYSIS: No issues here for Darnold on Friday and Saturday. He looked fine in both his short and long drop-backs. He appeared comfortable moving around in the pocket. He has quick and reliable feet. Of course, he had a red (non-contact) jersey on, so it's not like he really had to evade pressure in the pocket.

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ACCURACY SHORT

GRADE: B+

ANALYSIS: Just a couple hiccups over two days — mainly in 7-on-7 action, rather than in team periods — but no major problems for Darnold with screen passes and dump-offs. His short-range accuracy issues had more to do with decision making and forcing passes, it appeared. But it's not like he had a ton of these issues.

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ACCURACY DEEP

GRADE: A-

ANALYSIS: Excellent. He uncorked a couple beautiful deep balls both days. He did have a near interception at the end of Friday's practice on a deep ball. But for the most part, Darnold showed off a strong and accurate arm with his deep-ball passing. During Saturday's practice, in 7-on-7 action, Darnold dropped a gorgeous sideline deep ball right in for Ryan Green, a tryout running back who caught it on the run. An excellent throw.

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MOBILITY

GRADE: A+

ANALYSIS: This is the main thing that stood out about Darnold over these two days. He is great at throwing on the run, and he does equally well with roll-outs to either side, when asked to pass in those situations. This should be a big asset for new offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates, who looked plenty enthusiastic over these two days about having Darnold around.

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DECISION MAKING

GRADE: B

ANALYSIS: A few hiccups (but not a lot) for Darnold. There were five total botched snaps on these two days, but that was more the fault of the tryout centers than it was of Darnold's decision making. He appeared to go through his reads quickly and decisively while dropping back to throw. He forced one throw in 7-on-7 action Saturday that was almost picked off — and the same thing happened again in a team period Saturday. But no glaring mistakes with his decision making over these two days.

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BALL SECURITY

GRADE: B

ANALYSIS: Setting the botched snaps aside, since most of them didn't appear to be Darnold's fault, how did he do with turnovers? Well, he didn't have any fumbles in the pocket, as he did a nice job of keeping both hands on the ball — something he has worked hard at. Of course, there wasn't a real pass rush, so it was hard to judge. In terms of interceptions, Darnold had one in 7-on-7 action Friday and another in 7-on-7 action Saturday, though it appeared the wide receiver slipped before that latter pick.

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LEADERSHIP

GRADE: A-

ANALYSIS: Darnold wasn't a loudly vocal leader on the practice field Friday and Saturday, but he led by example, as he ran from one drill to the next. And the other players participating in the Jets' rookie minicamp this weekend raved about Darnold's intelligence and approachability. A good start. Long way to go.

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HANDLING MEDIA

GRADE: A-

ANALYSIS: For what it's worth (not much), he did fine in this area. USC does a great job of exposing its high-profile athletes to media, so Darnold is used to this stuff. He's not an amateur when it comes to dealing with the media. He handles tough questions just fine and moves on with his day.

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INTERACTIONS WITH COACHES

GRADE: A

ANALYSIS: Looks like Darnold is developing a nice rapport with Bates, who consistently high-fived him after big plays on Friday and Saturday. Bates is Darnold's position coach, in addition to being his offensive coordinator. They're going to spend a lot of time working together, and it looks like they get along well.

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MAIN HIGHLIGHT

Yes, that was a pretty deep ball Darnold threw in 7-on-7 action Saturday. But for us, the main highlight was how well Darnold threw on the run, during roll-out situations. He set his feet well and was accurate passing in these situations. This will add another dynamic to Bates' offense.

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MAIN LOWLIGHT

Just those few forced passes. And yes, Darnold appeared to be to blame for one or two of the botched snaps. One pick each day in 7-on-7 action qualifies as a lowlight, but it's not the end of the world. And Darnold had a near pick on a deep ball at the end of Friday's practice. So he could do a bit of a better job with this stuff.

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BIG-PICTURE IMPRESSIONS

Darnold looked comfortable out there Friday and Saturday, and he looks like he belongs, in terms of how he threw the ball. But again, take all of this with a grain of salt. It's really hard to make big judgments off just two rookie minicamp practices ... and the first two rookie minicamp practices, at that. The coaches aren't asking a ton of Darnold, in terms of playbook workload. And Darnold was mostly playing against guys who have no future in the NFL. The Jets had 45 tryout players on-hand for rookie minicamp. Not exactly high-level competition.

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FINAL GRADE

GRADE: A-

ANALYSIS: Accuracy is one thing that's tough to teach in the NFL, and the Jets witnessed first-hand just how inaccuracy often carries over from college (with Christian Hackenberg, a dud). Darnold, for the most part, threw an accurate ball over these two days. That's a good start for him. We can't emphasize this enough: There is still a long, long way to go for him. But Friday and Saturday's action was a productive start.

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Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DarrylSlater. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.