The 49ers are reportedly one of the teams that would be the most interested in Jets QB Sam Darnold. It appears the Jets will move on from him as they are likely to take a QB in the NFL draft with the 2nd pick.
Darnold was drafted 3rd overall in the 2018 NFL draft and was expected to be their QB for a long time. It didn’t work out in New York and a fresh start will be welcomed for both sides.
I still see a lot of potential in Darnold though. He was my number 1 rated QB in the 2018 draft. I’m a big fan of him. Love the talent and the tools he possesses. His ceiling is high. The reasons it didn’t show up in New York are pretty obvious.
Firstly, the coaching that they had was bad. Played a year with Todd Bowles and that staff and it was bad but that staff wasn’t good. Then played two years in Gase’s offense. His offenses are best known for sapping production from its players. The Jets just haven’t had good coaching recently.
Next is the roster. You look up and down the roster the last three years, and you see a barren wasteland. A roster devoid of a lot of talent. The best weapon of offense Darnold has had in his career is Jamison Crowder. Nothing against Crowder but he just doesn’t stack up against most team’s top WRs. The RB room hasn’t been great as Bell wasn’t great for them and as much as I love Gore, if he’s your top RB right now, things have gone seriously wrong. Don’t even get me started on the poor offensive line and the lack of any real TE talent on the roster. The defense didn’t help anything either for the most part.
Then there’s the pressure of playing in New York. It’s a real thing and is documented well by players that have entered and left New York in sports. It’s just different. Not all players thrive in it. It’s easy to crumble.
Sam Darnold was quite clearly in a very losing situation in New York. About the worst situation a player, much less a young one, can be thrown into. I’m not certain any QB could thrive, much less survive, in that situation.
Sam Darnold deserves to escape the Jets and will likely get it. I would implore the 49ers to seriously look into it.
I think he could definitely thrive in Shanahan’s system, with a much better roster, a better culture and an easier environment to play in. He still has all the talent and tools to succeed and I can’t think of a better guy to make it work than Shanahan. He turned a far less talented Garoppolo into a QB that was at one point at least on the outskirts of the top 10 QB conversation multiple times. I’d love to see what he could do with a big talent like Darnold. The sky could be the limit.
Then there is the flexibility angle for the 49ers. Darnold would only cost the 49ers $5M in 2021. Moving off Garoppolo and getting Darnold would save them about $20M against the cap, which would be major any year, but especially this year. Could sign a pretty good player or two at that price or just bring back their own FAs and sign extensions.
Darnold would maybe only cost a 2nd round pick at most to acquire, possibly only a 3rd. That’s a very low cost when considering the alternatives, which include trading everything they own for Watson or trading serious draft capital to trade up for a QB in the draft. This would give them the flexibility to use their pick at 12 however they choose without the pressure of taking a QB there. Or they could trade down to acquire more draft capital if they choose. One philosophy they’ve held as an organization, and Shanahan has said this, is that they like flexibility going into the draft and don’t love the pressure of having one glaring need in the draft.
Now, I mentioned those alternatives earlier and would like to go back to that. Watson is certainly better than Darnold but I don’t know if the 49ers are prepared to part with three 1sts and Warner or Bosa plus maybe more to acquire him. The Watson saga might also last until next offseason (not likely but possible). That waiting game is risky.
As for rookies, I think Darnold is a better gamble than a rookie. He’s been in the league three years so knows what it takes in the NFL. The learning curve won’t be as great. He’d be the starter for the 49ers immediately. He can much easier acclimate to a new team than a rookie acclimating to NFL life and then having to perform for a SB contender. Darnold is just a better bet for a team like the 49ers due to immediacy. His floor is probably higher too simply because we have probably already seen his worst. These rookies are total question marks. Darnold also, at least in my opinion, has just as high a ceiling as any of the QBs in the draft. Easy to forget how young and talented he is after what he’s been through with the Jets. Still only going to be 24 and was a top 5 pick not too long ago.
The talent hasn’t gone away for Darnold. It’s just locked up, waiting for someone to unlock it. Shanahan could be the key that unlocks it. This is a move the 49ers should strongly consider making for so many reasons. It makes a ton of sense for them.
No comments:
Post a Comment