Now that he has officially been named the New York Jets starting quarterback, we go behind the numbers and look at Sam Darnold’s preseason.
Monday afternoon the New York Jets made a stunning announcement. OK it wasn’t stunning but it was still an announcement.
They announced that Sam Darnold would be the starting quarterback week one. This news surprised nobody on this planet. It has been heading in that direction for weeks.
With that, let’s talk about how ready he really is. How did he look in the preseason?
This time, however, we are not using the “eye” test. We all have our opinions about how he looked on the field. Instead, we are going to actually look at the numbers, courtesy of Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
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First we look at the overall stats:
29-45, 64.4% completion, 244 yards, two touchdowns, one interception.
Now take a look at the following statline:
29-56, 51.8% completion, 397 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.
The second statline was from the 2016 preseason. It comes from a quarterback known as one of the top young players at the position right now.
His name is Deshaun Watson.
Darnold was much more efficient, both in completing passes and getting his team in the end zone.
Darnold also performed better when blitzed, completing 60% of his passes compared to Watson completing 53.3%.
Having pocket presence is something most young quarterbacks don’t have. Sam Darnold has it. The numbers don’t lie.
Now we look at how he distributed the football. There was some talk about how he didn’t take the football down the field enough. Truth, he did go just 0-1 in pass attempts of more than 20 yards.
First, remember the offenses aren’t exactly aggressive in the preseason. Darnold cannot be faulted by staying within the limited plays he was given.
However, he did some great work in the intermediate range. Over the preseason, he went 7-12 for 97 yards and a touchdown. He completed 58.3% of his passes which is solid for a first preseason.
This guy will push the ball down the field. Sam Darnold is ready, the numbers don’t lie.
Let’s sit back, let it happen, and let’s enjoy the ride.