JETS DRAFT TROJANS QB SAM DARNOLD:
The football gods gave the Jets the most precious gift of all Thursday night with this message: Sometimes NOT sucking has its privileges. Less than a year after the Suck for Sam movement was born, this star-crossed franchise lucked into USC quarterback Sam Darnold with the third pick of the NFL draft. It was a Festivus Miracle for Gang Green, a stroke of great fortune typically reserved for others, a watershed moment for legions of tormented fans conditioned to feel unexplainable pain.
When the smokescreens cleared and the white noise that cluttered everyone’s brains was reduced to a whisper, there was the best quarterback in this draft class staring Mike Maccagnan in the face.
Talk about the luck of the Irish. Only Maccagnan isn’t Irish. So, go figure.
The Jets were operating under the belief for some time that the Browns would select Darnold with the No. 1 overall pick before GM John Dorsey pulled the ol’ switch-a-roo by grabbing Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield with the top selection. The Giants drafted Penn State running back Saquon Barkley at No. 2 to set the stage for the Jets to make the smartest — and safest — move.
The California kid instantly becomes the new face of the franchise, but will he be able to deliver the brass ring?
“I’m taking it head on,” Darnold said of the pressure to live up to massive expectations from a starving fanbase. “I’m a pretty confident guy. I’m really comfortable in my own skin. I’m going to go in there, do my thing and do what the coaches ask me to do. And do that at the highest level. That’s my plan.”
Maccagnan hitched his star to the grandson of the Marlboro Man’s wagon two years after whiffing on Christian Hackenberg. Saddle up, Jets fans. It’s going to be a wild ride. Time will reveal Darnold as a savior or a bust, the solution or just another part of a seemingly interminable problem for this organization, but I have a great feeling that the Jets struck gold at a time when they needed to the most. Will the 20-year-old with an even-keeled disposition exorcise five decades of demons? Does the most complete signal caller in this draft class have the ability to infuse Todd Bowles’ team with a belief that anything is possible? When will Darnold be ready to start? “There’s no timetable,” Bowles said. “We got to see how fast he learns and how fast he can grasp everything. And then get some experience. We’re not going to throw him in there. At the same time, we’re not going to hold him back either.”
Here’s what you won’t see: Crotch-grabbing, flag-planting histrionics.
Here’s what you will see: A QB who can beat you with his brain, arm and feet.
The 6-3, 220-pound Darnold’s innate ability to sense and escape pressure to extend plays is his strongest asset. He can — and will— torment opponents in multiple ways. He’s clutch, mobile, athletic and durable. He can improvise. He’ll scramble out of the pocket with the intent of beating you through the air. He throws with anticipation.
Darnold is destined to wake up opposing defensive coordinators in a cold sweat as he continues to evolve as a player.
“We feel that he has a very, very bright