Let’s BE Frank: Sam Darnold

For weeks, Jets fans all around, including myself, had grown accustomed to having Baker Mayfield or Josh Rosen under center for the foreseeable future for Gang Green.  We all went through the pros and cons of each quarterback and right up until draft day eve, I was still on the fence. That’s the moment I decided that I wanted Josh Rosen.  He had a New York attitude. He had all the skills to be a great quarterback. Most experts pegged him as the most NFL ready and I was happy with my decision.

And then we fast forward to draft night.  Roger Goodell slowly walked across the stage and announced …with the #1 pick, the Cleveland Browns select Baker Mayfield.  With the 2nd pick, the New York Giants select Saquon Barkley.  THEN…With the 3rd pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, they New York Jets select…Sam Darnold.   What!?!?! Suck for Sam was the motto Jets fans cried prior to the 2017 season.  But the Jets didn’t suck enough to get the #1 pick. They needed to trade a haul just to move up to #3, so they could hopefully get a quarterback that they liked.  Yet, they still get Sam Darnold? Why did he fall to #3? How did this happen? My head was spinning. As I watched the draft at FantasyShed studios, I was in complete disbelief.  I think I was actually a little upset because of how confused I was by everything that happened with the first two picks. Since Thursday night, I’ve had a lot of time to really let things sink in and truly evaluate what happened a few nights ago.  Here’s what I have realized…The New York Jets may have actually found their franchise quarterback. Yes, Jets fans, I said that correctly!

When it comes to Sam Darnold, here are two major knocks that most people have.  One, is that he is from USC. I know, I know. You can’t not like a QB just because they are from USC.  But take a look around. When was the last QB from USC an NFL star? Let’s see, we have Mark Sanchez, Matt Barkley, Matt Leinart, Carson Palmer, Todd Marinovich, Rodney Peete and list of other unknowns.  USC is a storied college program and yet they haven’t produced a single very good, let alone great quarterback. It can’t be ignored that he is from USC. The second knock is that he was a turnover machine.  That is definitely something that Sam is going to have to work on. He has been working with Jordan Palmer of late and we can only hope that what he is learning helps. With that said, there are many huge positives to Sam Darnold’s game.  The guy is huge, he can make all the NFL throws and he has great pocket awareness and the agility to move in and out of the pocket when he needs to.

At this point, Sam has said all the right things.  An overwhelming majority of Jets fans are in favor of the selection and that makes sense, given he was the top quarterback prospect according to most experts.  You really can’t ignore the fact that the fans are in support, given Jets fans and their draft night history. Now it’s up to Sam. It’s time for him to come in here, learn from veterans, and soak it all in over the course of the first 8-16 games of the season, depending on when he gets his first shot.  We are all pulling for you Sam. We’ve been craving a guy we can call OUR franchise quarterback for a lifetime now. It’s time to make it happen!