Analysis: Panthers gamble on Sam Darnold’s upside with Jets trade

The Carolina Panthers gamble on Sam Darnold’s upside in their trade with the New York Jets.

Well, they did it! The Carolina Panthers got themselves a young, highly-touted quarterback at the top of the draft . . . from three years ago.

Sam Darnold, the third overall selection by the New York Jets in 2018, is headed to Carolina. The Panthers, in their widespread search for a worthwhile signal caller this offseason, will see him move their way in exchange for three picks—a sixth-rounder in 2021 as well as a second-rounder and fourth-rounder in 2022.

This move may disappoint some of you faithful out there.

Does this mean they’re out of the running for a prospect with their No. 8 pick in a few weeks? Have they decided to stay away from Deshaun Watson and his ongoing and growing litigation? Are they out of other options and just waving the white flag by acquiring, as of today, a failed experiment?

Possibly. Probably. And maybe. That doesn’t, however, mean Monday’s trade is necessarily a desperate and terrible one.

Darnold is by no means a perfect option. Hell, he wasn’t even their first, second or third option. They swung and missed on Matthew Stafford, they’re likely not wanting to touch Watson with a 30-foot pole and the top-four quarterbacks of the upcoming draft are either spoken for or out of range.

Darnold at the least is an intriguing option.

The 6-foot-3, 225-pound California-born boy possessed all those sexy quarterback traits that make the scouts swoon during his time at USC. He displayed the pocket presence, the poise, the perception and did it while also showing off his potentially special arm.

That kid was enough to make the Jets trade a boatload of draft capital in moving up just to nab him. Unfortunately, NFL Darnold has been completely different than USC Darnold.

He’s started in 38 games over his three professional campaigns, throwing for just 8,047 yards with 45 touchdowns and 39 interceptions. He’s often looked weak and indecisive under pressure and has been considerably off on much too many of his throws, a polar opposite player of what we saw in college.

Between those underwhelming numbers and his inability to carry over his eye-opening tools, it seemed as though the league had began to swallow him up as just another Jets flop. Hell, the most notable thing he’s done in the NFL is catch a case of mononucleosis.

Until now.

If we’re being fair to Darnold, he didn’t have the greatest of help in New York. In fact, he was part of an alarmingly dysfunctional organization that can’t tell left from right.

Darnold has also flashed signs of being that guy who was worth that No. 3 pick, occasionally making throws most mortals can’t.

 

Now, Darnold gets an opportunity to work with a stable coaching staff—not under a toxic one with Adam Gase. but one with a steady and exciting vision under coach Matt Rhule and offensive coordinator Joe Brady. Darnold also gets the opportunity to throw to DJ Moore and Christian McCaffrey, not Braxton Berrios and a mishmash of old and undrafted running backs.

And he’s also back with Robby Anderson, another Jet who got while the getting was good and found himself some success in Carolina.

Again, Darnold is no sure thing. Reality has set in for the Panthers, though and forced them to get creative in finding the long-term solution at quarterback.

That solution could involve a miracle of sorts, with a Justin Fields or Trey Lance somehow slipping down into their grasp. While unlikely, that’s still an outcome that’s very much in play, even with Darnold on the roster for the next two years.

But if it doesn’t, this modest gamble on a 23-year-old with untapped and underutilized upside coming out of a franchise Patrick Mahomes couldn’t have saved isn’t a bad one to make.

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