If Sam Darnold is the unstoppable force and the Cleveland Browns are the immovable object, you can officially take me down to Paradox City.
Fresh off Sam Darnold Day (er…USC Pro Day) the forces pulling the Browns and the USC Quarterback together seem to be intensifying.
Darnold was dominant at his pro day which saw him start in cloudy weather and end his workout in a monsoon. In a scripted trial designed to make Darnold look good, he looked great.
While organization and player seem to be in a serious courtship, some Browns fans don’t appear sold on Darnold just yet.
Nick Wilson, New & Used Quarterback salesman, at your service.
We’re going to take a quick look at some of the basic thoughts on California native and examine what is real with him. I expect you’ll want to drive this baby off the lot when we’re done.
Turnovers are the most significant knock against Darnold, even weighted excessively. It’s important to remember, whether they exhibited it in college or not, turnovers are usually a part of a young quarterback’s growth. (Peyton Manning threw 28 interceptions his rookie year.)
Yet not all turnovers are created equal with the cause being the greatest importance.
A lot of Darnold’s fumbles have been due to hand placement & ball protection which are relatively fixable with coaching. His hand size was also measured to be average at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Interceptions are a different story but not entirely unforgivable either.
A good number of his interceptions don’t have to do with accuracy but decision making. Darnold (and UCLA’s Josh Rosen) throws a number of picks due to his gun slinging mentality & confidence in himself.
Darnold is also gifted with a natural ability to throw receivers open. It’s an elite trait that top 10 quarterbacks tend to have. Still if a player isn’t where he should be or gets beat, this can lead to turnovers. As USC saw a talent drop around Darnold in 2017, his trust of his surrounding cast & gun slinging mentality hurt his numbers. Fixable.
Another common slam against Darnold is he isn’t an elite prospect ala Andrew Luck or Peyton Manning. Just a reminder, only 2 prospects in 25 years have been given that label.
Aaron Rodgers? Not Luck or Manning. Eli Manning? Nada. Matt Ryan? Nope.
The 2018 QB Class is widely regarded as the best in years and Sam Darnold is at the top of it which should suffice.
Draftniks contend Darnold isn’t the best quarterback right now. This may or may not be valid.
Even taking it at face value, the NFL Draft is about projection & not just where a prospect is now. A player’s ceiling & their ability to reach it is key. Darnold has significant upside with the tools, both physically and mentally, to reach it.
Some scouts also wonder if Darnold would benefit from a year on the bench.
Quarterback development isn’t an exact science. The same knock was used on Carson Wentz who promptly had a strong summer and started all 16 games for Philadelphia his rookie year.
Meanwhile, Jared Goff, the alleged more pro ready quarterback in that draft didn’t see the field until the second half of his rookie year with disastrous results.
Even if Cleveland decides Darnold should start his career on the bench, they finally have an establish veteran in Tyrod Taylor to carry the mantle of starting quarterback until he is ready.
In the grand scheme of a NFL career, it’s just one season. Should Darnold pan out as expected, is anyone going to care about one year he didn’t play? Negatory Ghostrider.
One concern the USC product cannot silence is that he is both a ginger and a bro. Unfortunately, both knocks are true.Can Darnold break through the glass ceiling established for ginger quarterbacks in the NFL?
Can a guy who sounds like one of the turtles from Finding Nemo be relatable to a blue-collar city like Cleveland?
Only God & time will be able to answer those questions. For his part, God didn’t respond to my overtures.
The draft is over a month away so there is still time for someone to swoop in and change the mind of the homeless guy who tells Browns Owner Jimmy Haslam whom to draft.
Still the forces of nature seem to be pulling Cleveland and known ginger bro Samuel Darnold together. The Browns could do a lot worse.
And they have. Praise be John Dorsey.
