How much for Sam? A late 3rd or 4th round pick: report
The buzz around Gang Green has suggested the Jets will draft a quarterback with the No. 2 pick. General manager Joe Douglas already admitted the Jets were taking calls on Sam Darnold. This further signifies Darnold could be moved.
His trade value, however, likely won’t be quite robust, according to ESPN’s NFL reporter Kimberley Martin.
“The conversations I’ve had with NFL GMs, I asked them what would you give up, and they told me, ‘Maybe a third, a late third or even maybe a conditional fourth,’” Martin said Monday on the network’s show “Get Up.”
Martin later tweeted a thread regarding Darnold’s trade market, writing that one GM considered a late third-round pick would be “a little rich” to give up for the Jets’ QB. She also reported Darnold’s option in his contract was a problem and that teams will likely not pick up this offseason.
“You’d only have a year of him in a new org,” Martin wrote, “in a new system, working w/ new teammates while he’s trying to figure it all out *and* the team is trying to work out his bad habits.” This isn’t shocking. Darnold was arguably the worst quarterback in the NFL last season. He had more interceptions (11) than touchdowns (nine), threw for 2,208 yards and completed 59% of his passes. It’s inconceivable to fetch a first or second round pick coming off that type of production.
There are at least two teams interested in Gang Green’s QB: the Panthers and the Steelers, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
“I’d keep an eye on Carolina and Pittsburgh,” Breer wrote Monday. “Darnold would represent a worthy, and affordable, dart to throw at the quarterback.”
Breer also reported that the 49ers did have discussions about Darnold.
“The Niners did have some internal discussion on Sam Darnol,” Breer wrote. “And in the process of vetting they figured that the Jets weren’t moving the second pick.”