At this point in the offseason, it is anyone’s guess as to where the Indianapolis Colts will go in acquiring their new quarterback. Even the front office themselves are still going through the options.
One name that will likely be linked in potential trade talks with the Colts will be the New York Jets and quarterback Sam Darnold. Though the new regime in East Rutherford says they have faith in Darnold, that won’t stop them from shipping him off.
Pro Football Focus made the prediction that Darnold will wind up wearing the horseshoe after a trade this offseason.
Prediction: The Colts acquire Sam Darnold from the New York Jets via trade
With Deshaun Watson on his way to New York in these predictions, Darnold will be sent packing. Indianapolis sounds like the most likely place to try to revive the 2018 No. 3 overall pick — which was ironically the Colts’ pick to begin with.
Darnold has flashed a troubling combination of inconsistency, inaccuracy and poor decision-making throughout his NFL career. Since entering the league, he ranks second-to-last in passing grade, last in big-time throw rate, third-to-last in turnover-worthy play rate and third-to-last in accurate pass rate on throws beyond the line of scrimmage. Given what we know about Darnold, a breakout in Year 4 or beyond would be an even bigger anomaly than what we witnessed with Josh Allen this past season.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement from PFF there.
Darnold is an enigma. He’s still young enough to be salvaged and he has flashes of brilliance, but taking on this project would be risky for the Colts. The damage from Adam Gase may already be done to the point of no return for the USC product.
Acquiring Darnold likely wouldn’t be that expensive. It’s hard to believe it would cost the Colts a first-round pick nor should they be willing to part ways with it for a project.
It’s hard to say whether Darnold’s best years are ahead of him, which is saying something, simply because of the damage that was done by the previous Jets regime.
If the Colts can acquire him cheap, say for a Day 3 pick, then it might be worth it. But Darnold isn’t an option the Colts should invest heavily in given the risk.
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