Sam Darnold

USC

6’4″ 220 pounds

Quick Recap

Passing:

63.1%, 4,143 yards, 26 touchdowns, 13 interceptions

Rushing:

75 carries, 82 yards; 5 touchdowns

Best Game:

vs Stanford

-21/26, 316 yards, 4 touchdowns, 2 interceptions

Worst Game:

Washington State

-15/29, 164 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interceptions

Breakdown

So this is the coveted QB class I’ve been hearing so much about, huh? Anyone who remotely knows anything about football has heard about “The Darnold” since last year. USC ended as one of the hottest teams in CFB and won the Rose Bowl in comeback fashion against Penn State in 2016 and everyone pegged him as the undisputed number one pick for the draft when he would declare, but how does he look now?

He remains one of the top QBs in the nation but now, there are a few question marks regarding his game. I will break down what I believe his strengths and weaknesses are and of course, everyone’s favorite, his player comparison.

Strengths

So what makes this kid so special? What separates him from other QBs like Josh Rosen, Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, etc. Well let me tell you, it’s his ability to make throws on the run. After watching a few hours of tape on him, I continued to see this kid make plays on the move, but not just that, making pinpoint accurate throws.

(I even made GIFs for you; you’re welcome internet.)

Darnold has this uncanny ability to keep his eyes down the field and deliver passes when he’s unbalanced. I don’t even know if that’s a trait that you could have but he consistently threw accurate passes while off-balance. His mechanics still leave a lot to be desired (I will discuss this more in his weakness portion) but his skillset of throwing on the move is something that immediately jumped out to me as one of his biggest assets.

Alongside being able to throw so well on the move, he is able to keep plays alive. When things are beginning to crash around him, he keeps his head down the field and uses his athleticism to evade pressure.

This is a perfect example of his awareness in the pocket. There are a lot of young quarterbacks who would just take off with their legs but Sam efficiently slides to evade the tackle while having his eyes down the field the whole time. After he sidesteps the defender, he delivers yet another perfect pass into a tight window. I could already hear it now. Collinsworth being rock hard and bumbling “Well here’s a guy who looks like a good ol’ veteran back there and keeping his eye down the field and delivering a great ball while under duress” God, I hate Cris Collinsworth.

Darnold is an above average athlete at the QB position. He isn’t necessarily the fastest, but he will use his legs if you give him the opportunity. He also stands at a good frame of 6’4″, 220 pounds, and with the combination of his athleticism and size, he could be hard to bring down. One thing to note is he has a bad tendancy of sliding head first. I’m sure things will change once a realizes he’s in the same league as Bam Bam Kam, Keanu Neal, Burfict, etc.

Another thing that stood out to me when watching film on #14 was his arm. I don’t think I have seen him underthrow a receiver with the films I’ve watched. I’m not saying he has the best arm in this class but he definitely can make all the throws.

Look at this throw. Rose Bowl against Penn State, less than 90 seconds left in the game, the biggest throw of his career up to this point. He trusts his eyes and arm to make the throw down the field down the seam. He must have flipped on the clutch factor because he was unreal down the stretch. He is incredibly confident in his arm and it shows in any game you watch.

I don’t mean to get all John Gruden on you but this kid is a competitor and a leader. All his teammates rally around him and no matter the deficit, they believe that they can win when Darnold is on the field.

Weakness

Now there is a reason why Darnold went from undisputed number one QB to some questioning his ability, all in one year. Darnold, in a sense, is wildly inconsistent. He will go from making every single throw and being a huge playmaker to unable to complete a swing pass, Sound like I’m describing Cam Newton…sorry Carolina fans. However, I believe most of this is tied down to one essential aspect: his mechanics.

Now, what does this mean? I hear everyone saying “oh he has raw mechanics” or “his mechanics could use a little work” but no one ever goes in depth of what they mean. I by no means am an expert but I do, like all of you, have the internet and feel like I know more than the GMs on draft day when I watch 3 hours of film. My hubris is at an all-time high and I will at least try and explain why his mechanics are less than ideal.

The first thing that jumps out is his release. He has a really long, windmill-like release that is inefficient and could serve as problem in the NFL where pass-rushers give you mere seconds to get it out of your hands.

I mean look at that windup. It’s like he’s throwing a baseball. Now I know this may sound nitpicky but it really isn’t. There is no reason to let the ball dip that low, especially on a short to intermediate throw.

Watch film of some of the elite passers in the NFL and one of the main things that they all have in common besides the fact that they like to molest defenses, is their ability to get the ball out of their hands quickly. I can’t tell you how many games I’ve watched where they commentators talk about how quick Brady’s release is. I get it Collinsworth. God, I hate you so much.

This is not necessarily a deal breaker. There have been some great quarterbacks that have had the same issue and continued their career with the same mechanics and found success. An immediate quarterback that comes to mind that had this type of throwing mechanic was Tim Tebow, but I promise that there were some good QBs, if not great ones, that threw a similar way.

Russell Wilson is someone who I continually see that has a windup but that may be because he has a long past history of playing baseball. He is also shorter than the prototypical QB so this motion also helps him get a lot of power and air under his throws as well. Yes, his throwing mechanics could use a bit of work, but I think Wilson has found some success. Why fix something that is working so well for him?

Vikings’ legend Brett Favre was another guy who was notoriously known to have a long windup and dip the ball low. I still believe to this day that there was no one who threw a ball harder than this guy. I hear stories of how his receiver’s fingers were always broken and fractured after practices and games because this guy just brought the heat. He’s the type of guy who will throw his hardest at you when you run a 5-yard slant. No chill. Brett Favre is one of the best QBs ever and he was able to find success with his throwing motion.

Now I’m not saying that Darnold is going to be like the past two QBs that I just spoke about, but I am saying that it has worked in the past. I believe he will have to work a lot on his throwing motion to become more efficient but a part of me is afraid that he will revert back to his old style. A lot of the mistakes he made in college was tied to this fundamental mechanic. He had 11 fumbles last year which was the second most in the nation. A lot of this was due to his long throwing mechanic.

To continue about his weaknesses like I discussed earlier, he is wildly inconsistent. Although he has great arm strength, he overthrows receivers like no one I have ever seen. As I was watching some film, I was getting frustrated at how he would absolutely miss the easiest throws right in front of him.

This play right here perfectly encapsulates why some people are so confused about his ability. He does a great job standing in the pocket, has plenty of time, then just completely botches the throw. There are several examples throughout his college career where he does this and it really leaves me believing that even I could make these throws (not really). Once again, I believe a lot of this is tied to his throwing mechanic. If he is able to get it out of his hands without the unnecessary windup, I believe he would have negated the amount of air he got under this pass. It’s just so odd to me that a QB is consistently overthrowing his target rather than underthrowing them.

One last comment about his mechanic, I promise. His footwork could also use a lot of work. He often throws with his feet parallel to the line of scrimmage. I was shocked at how often he would do this because you lose a lot of power on your throws when you try to spin the ball. The thing that shocked me, even more, was how consistently accurate he still was when his feet were out of place. I think his uncanny ability to throw the ball so well while off balance definitely minimized this issue but when he gets to the NFL, his margin for error becomes razor thin.

One final weakness I will touch upon is going to sound a bit odd. I stated that one of his strengths is that he has a fantastic arm that he is confident in…but that could also be used against him. He is overly confident at times and becomes way too aggressive. I think the reasoning for this is because he often sticks to his first reads and struggles at identifying the zone linebackers.

Sometimes, he trusts his arm too much and tries to make plays that aren’t there. He has the label of being turn-over prone and as much as I hate to say it, that’s fair. I mean, if you’re on my team and turn the ball over 24 times in a short college season, I don’t think I will hold back. He threw for 13 interceptions and most of them came from forcing the ball or tossing it into a zone that he did not see. While he will definitely become better at identifying defenses in the NFL, this is something to keep in mind.

Player Comparison

Now, this may rub people the wrong way and this by no means is a knock on Darnold or Jameis. I have told a lot of people that Sam Darnold reminds me a lot of Jameis coming out in the draft. Someone who can make great plays, wins games, but also has a tendency of being overly aggressive and turnover-prone. I believe Darnold could develop into a much better player than Jameis, but my player comparisons are designed to help show who he reminds me of coming out of the draft, not what their ceiling is. A lot of people get their panties in a bunch when I tell them this comparison but everything I just described as Darnold’s strengths and weaknesses remind me a lot of Jameis when he was coming out. The only difference is that I believe Darnold has better arm talent and better on the move.

Recap

So whenever I hear anyone talk about Sam Darnold, I always hear the same thing. This kid has “the highest potential” and “the highest ceiling.” I honestly understand why they say this but hate that they never add anything to back up their claim. If Darnold can put it all together and polish up his mechanics, I believe he can be an absolute terror. He shows so many flashes and showcases that he can make every single throw. There are, of course, some concerns over how many turnovers he had his last year in college (24; 13 int & 11 fumbles), but I believe a lot of that could be easily be resolved by continuing to fix his throwing and feet mechanics.

Strengths

One of the best arms in the draft

Stupidly accurate on the run/off balanced

Above average athlete

Smart Runner

Good pocket awareness

Weaknesses

Wildy inconsistent

Long wind-up throw & pretty iffy feet mechanic

Sticks to first read too often

Struggles to identify zone linebacker

Overly confident in arm

Horrible ball security in the pocket

Turn-over prone

Player Comparison

Famous Jameis

Draft Grade

1st Round

Likely Landing Spot

Browns, Giants, Broncos

By: Thomas Yu AKA: /u/DerriusGuice