New York Giants 2018 NFL Draft Targets: Sam Darnold
The New York Giants have the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, and if he’s available, they should consider making Sam Darnold their next franchise quarterback.
It’s very rare for a team to be able to transition from one franchise quarterback seamlessly to their next one. That said, the New York Giants could pull off what the Green Bay Packers did when they drafted Aaron Rodgers, if they use their No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft on Sam Darnold.
The truth is that Sam Darnold isn’t as polished as Josh Rosen is, but there could be a chance that the Browns take Rosen at No. 1. If that’s the case, the Giants should take Darnold if they want the quarterback of the future and want to wait until Round 2 to select a much-needed offensive lineman.
Even though he’s not as refined a total package, there are some quality NFL skills that he already possesses. He’s good at throwing receivers open rather than waiting for them to be open, and he can get through his progressions quickly, which allows him to get rid of the ball quickly.
When it comes to accuracy, he’s also a quality player. He had a career 64.9 percent completion rate at USC. Additionally, in 2017, according to Pro Football Focus Elite, he had an adjusted completion percentage of 70.6 (which is good).
He was also decent with passes of 20 yards or more. He had a 5-2 TD-INT ratio and a passer rating of 90.4 on the deep ball. He’s also mobile and has shown good leadership qualities while at USC.
The one thing he needs to work on is fumbling, as he had eight lost fumbles in 2017. However, the Giants do have a history of cracking fumbling issues with star players (see Tiki Barber).
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Frankly if the Giants feel they need to get their franchise quarterback this year, Darnold could be their guy, if Rosen isn’t available too. They would have the perfect transition like the Packers did when it was time for Brett Favre to move on. He’s definite got the potential to lead this franchise to another Super Bowl title.