Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
REGRESSION FOR JETS’ DARNOLD
Inconsistency, injuries plague former No. 3 draft pick
It took nearly two full seasons of offensive ineptitude. Of losing and losing and losing.
But embattled New York Jets coach Adam Gase finally acknowledged the obvious Thursday during one of his weekly news conferences with the fiery New York media.
Once promising quarterback prospect Sam Darnold has failed to develop under his watch. “I came here to help him, help him develop his career, and we haven’t been able to do that,” Gase said.
The coach and quarterback will take the field again Sunday against the Raiders, who have lost two straight as they jockey for positioning in an increasingly crowded playoff race.
Time may be running out for Darnold, who in three years has thrown 39 touchdown passes, 36 interceptions and, most glaringly, has an 11-22 record as the Jets’ starting quarterback. The former No. 3 overall pick has displayed flashes of brilliance during his three NFL seasons, But they’ve been few and far between amid injuries and substandard play as the Jets toil in ineptitude without a win in 2020.
Opinions about Darnold’s plight differ as the Jets close in on the No. 1 overall pick in a 2021 NFL draft that is rife with quarterback talent, including Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields.
Gase was, after all, once a heralded offensive coordinator worthy of Peyton Manning’s blessing. Yet he has presided the past three years over the league’s 26th-, 31stand 32nd-ranked scoring offenses. Darnold was thought to be a surefire franchise quarterback capable of elevating those around him. But he hasn’t been, instead regressing this season by every significant statistical measure.
“I take full responsibility for the way I’ve played,” Darnold told reporters last week. “I haven’t played well enough.”
All the tools
When he showed up at the Elite 11 quarterback competition in 2014, Darnold was a relatively anonymous quarterback prospect with a big arm, athletic frame and a huge chip on his shoulder
He had a point to prove. “He’s a gifted passer,” said former Southern California quarterbacks coach Yogi Roth, who coached at the Elite 11 from 2009-14 and works as an analyst for the Pac-12 Network. “I always felt he could put the ball into spots, really consistently.”
Darnold wasn’t selected that year as one of the Elite 11 quarterbacks, but his recruiting stock flourished ahead of his senior season — resulting in a commitment to USC. He toiled away on the scout team during his freshman year of 2015.
“He would be getting hit in the mouth all practice but would still be running and gunning,” said former USC offensive lineman Cyrus Hobbi, who played on the scout team with Darnold that season. “I just remember thinking that Sam seemed much further along than the quarterbacks I’d been around.”
Early in the 2016 season, Darnold would beat out heralded quarterback recruit Max Browne. He passed for 3,086 yards, 31 TDs and nine interceptions — including 453 yards and five TDs during a 53-33 victory over Penn State in the Rose Bowl, thus emerging as a premier pro prospect.
He followed in 2017 with 4,143 passing yards, 26 TDs and 13 interceptions amid a Heisman Trophy campaign and attention from NFL scouts.
The Jets tabbed Darnold with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, installing him as their starter in Week 1 of the 2018 season.
“He had all the physical traits. He seemed to be able to handle the pressure,” said NFL Network analyst Brian Billick, who recently authored a book on the quarterbacks in Darnold’s draft class. “The hard thing evaluating Sam … is what’s going on around him, which obviously has not been good.”
NFL struggles
Darnold has had his moments, his games where he’s played at a Pro Bowl level.
There was the 341-yard, threeTD outing against the Green Bay Packers during his rookie season. And the 293, four-TD performance last year in a win over the Washington Football Team.
And, of course, there was 34-3 win last year over the Raiders, during which he passed for 315 yards and two TDs while registering a passer rating of 127.8 — the second best of his career.
But far too often he’s played poorly.
Darnold hasn’t thrown a TD since September, and his completion percentage of 58.7 ranks 30th among the league’s 32 starting quarterbacks. His interception percentage is 31st behind only the Broncos’ Drew Lock. His passer rating is last among qualified quarterbacks.
“He’s past being the young quarterback,” Billick said “He’s got to step up like really good quarterbacks do and raise the level of play around him.”
The Jets are indeed devoid of the kind of skill position players who could alleviate some of the pressure on Darnold. He also plays behind a leaky offensive line that’s allowed pressure on 27.9 percent of his dropbacks, per Pro Football Reference, the third most in the NFL. He’s been sacked 22 times in seven games.
He’s also battled foot and shoulder injuries and mononucleosis during his NFL tenure.
Billick noted that quarterbacks who wash out with one NFL team typically don’t experience success with a new team before citing an example of one who bucked the trend — Tennessee Titans starter Ryan Tannehill, who played three years for Gase with the Miami Dolphins.
He has 45 TD passes, 10 interceptions and a 15-6 record since escaping Gase in 2019.
So the Jets have a decision to make, and Darnold may have a new home next season. “They’re going to be in the Trevor Lawrence derby at the end of the season,” Billick said.