Cleveland Browns: Sam Darnold, 2018 NFL Draft scouting report

USC’s Sam Darnold has the potential to impact the Cleveland Browns for the next five-to-10 years as a franchise savior or an unmitigated disaster.

Sam Darnold is an incredibly talented, but unrefined quarterback prospect out of USC. Despite being relatively new to the position as he played linebacker and tight end high school before becoming a fulltime quarterback, he shows tremendous ability that could thrive in the NFL. And his experience at linebacker and tight end has a visible influence on how he plays quarterback, making him a unique prospect and may help explain why teams are so high on the Trojan quarterback.

Production

64.8 completion percentage, 8.38 yards per attempt, 8.76 adjusted yards per attempt, 57 touchdowns, 22 interceptions (2.59:1), 295.5 yards per game in 22 starts. 332 yards at 2.42 yards per carry and 7 rushing touchdowns.

Despite the turnovers, which are an issue, Darnold was a an efficient quarterback at USC. His completion percentage, yards per attempt and adjusted yards per attempt are all excellent, suggest his upside is an All-Pro.

Measurements

Height: 6-3.375
Weight: 221 lbs
Hand Size: 9.375″

Darnold meets all the thresholds and bodywise, looks the part of a franchise quarterback. His hand size isn’t ideal, but nothing that prompts a concern, save results on the field with fumbles.

Athletic Testing

Age: 20 years old (Born Jun. 5, 1997)

40 Yard Dash: 4.85s
Broad Jump: 8’9″
Vertical: 26.5″
3-Cone: 6.96s
Shuttle: 4.4s
Radar Gun: Unavailable

Darnold is a pretty good, but not great athlete in terms of athletic testing. Everything passed with flying colors other than the most important test for a quarterback, the short shuttle.

The short shuttle measures ankle flexibility and foot quickness, and Darnold was pretty mediocre in that category. What makes this particularly odd is watching him on the field and how much more athletic he appears. Nevertheless, in watching him, his foot quickness isn’t great in play, should be improved upon at the next level as it will only help him, moving in the pocket.

Arm Strength and Accuracy

Starting with arm strength, Darnold has good overall strength, but his velocity varies. When Darnold gets his lower body involved, transitions his weight effectively and everything syncs up, there’s not a throw Darnold can’t make in terms of distance or velocity. Fitting it in a window, going deep down the field, touch passes, Darnold can make the throw.

The issue is that Darnold all too often throws without using his lower body and the results are inconsistent. There are certainly examples where Darnold throws a laser or makes an outstanding deep throw when he’s throwing without his lower half, but there are also a few obvious misfires.

Darnold’s accuracy can be downright uncanny. In terms of the quick passing game with screens, hitches, swings and slants, Darnold is deadly. He puts the ball in a spot where the receiver can catch and run pretty seamlessly, taking away most any excuse for drops. And often times, he’s doing it without his feet from a good position, if they’re even on the ground at all.

Certainly, this is not something he would be coached to do, but he’s able to do it as effectively as he is, so let him. That unique ability also makes the play go faster and the faster the ball is in the receiver’s hands, the faster he’s able to gain yardage and maximize yardage after the catch. It enabled the quick passing game to look like an extension of the running game, because it was so automatic and so easy on receivers.

The issue for Darnold is that there are too many examples where he can use good mechanics on throws that need them and simply doesn’t. And at times, he was able to get away with it at the collegiate level, because the passing windows were bigger or the level of competition is incapable. A lot of mistakes and misfires come from this area.

Having said that, when Darnold is right, he’s almost able to put passes on a spot at will. He throws receivers open, creates or widens windows and his instincts on where to put passes to best help his receiver while also making the defender have a difficult time making a play on the ball are impeccable. There’s no question that Darnold makes his receivers better and puts guys in position to make plays.

Whether it’s not properly using his lower body or just a misfire, when Darnold misses, he tends to miss high — and missing high, especially in the middle of the field, can lead to interceptions (and they did). Overall, there’s little Darnold can’t do from both a raw strength or accuracy point of view, but it’s all about consistency and minimizing situations where Darnold misses because of bad form.

Throwing Motion

Darnold’s throwing motion has been debated quite a bit. He’s got a longer, looping motion that goes from his arm pointing down, going all the way around and then coming out. Nothing about it is pretty or ideal.

It’s also not a problem. The most effective part of Darnold’s arsenal is in the quick game. His throws are on time, accurate and that motion has not been a problem on a single one of them. Since it’s not a problem, there’s no reason to mess with it. In a perfect world, having a tighter motion would be preferable, but the amount of work that would go into that just to slightly improve a small issue is simply not worth it.

The longer throwing motion might be a little more problematic in terms of fumbles being caused by pass rushers hitting him when the ball goes behind him, but the fumble or two that might occur over the life of his rookie contract don’t justify the change.

Footwork

The footwork is where Darnold needs to improve. Too often, there are throws where Darnold simply doesn’t use it on passes he should. Throws come out slower or off target, resulting in defenders able to make plays on the football.

Darnold really doesn’t have a great quick set that enables him to throw quickly out of an awkward spot. He just throws it and his feet are where they are. If he has his feet set, he makes a short stride out like a shortstop making a routine throw to first base. This enables Darnold to take up a small amount of space, so he can throw with pressure in his face.

Ideally, Darnold will put in work to keep improving his foot quickness. Some of this may be as a result of being a linebacker and tight end, while so many of these quarterbacks have been working on this stuff almost from birth. He’s got a little catching up to do in that area.

Beyond that, when he doesn’t shift his weight effectively, it appears this causes the ball to come out high. He’s leaning back and that naturally causes the ball to go up as opposed to forward. Better footwork, going forward, engaging his lower body will enable more consistent velocity and control.

This is the area that Darnold looked to improve upon for his Pro Day and while it largely looked good, it was on air and choreographed. It’s going to be something that needs to be a continued focus and will take months and maybe the full season to really ingrain as instinct.

Pocket Presence

Darnold is fearless in the pocket, unfazed by pressure. He keeps his eyes down the field and shows remarkable ability to operate from tight spaces. In this respect, he’s pretty unique. Darnold will throw from any pocket, no matter how small or how many bodies are around him. This can be truly spectacular.

Because Darnold is so fearless to throw a pass from anywhere and keeps his eyes downfield, he will occasionally make some breathtaking plays that virtually no one else could dream of making. It also makes him incredibly frustrating for defensive players, because between his mobility and his willingness to do this, plays are almost never dead.

There is risk involved, however. Not only can Darnold end up taking hits in a vulnerable position, this is where some of the fumbles he has are caused and obviously there is a risk of throwing an interception. Nevertheless, the payoff is worth the risk and managing that risk is going to be almost entirely for Darnold to figure out on his own. What he’s doing isn’t something that can really be coached and Darnold couldn’t teach someone else to do it. It’s his own instinct.

PASADENA, CA – JANUARY 02: Quarterback Sam Darnold #14 of the USC Trojans looks to pass the ball in the first half against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the 2017 Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 2, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

This is all likely influenced by his time as a linebacker, tight end and just his sheer make up as a football player. He’s not afraid to take risks as a passer and maneuvering in the pocket to create opportunities to pass or run. Darnold is perfectly comfortable having guys virtually on top of him before making a move or while he’s moving in a way few quarterbacks are. And that comfort level makes him able to use what athleticism he has and maximize it.

Darnold will take some bad sacks betting on his ability to make a play and needs to do a better job of protecting the football. Some of his fumbles are caused by simply not having two hands on the football. However, some of his fumbling issues will not be easily corrected as they are part of his DNA.

If Darnold is in a tight spot and tries to throw the ball away or sees a real opportunity to make a play, the ball may simply get knocked out while he’s trying to make the throw. This happened several times to Darnold and managing that risk, understanding that gamble and trying to improve the ratio is almost entirely on Darnold to address and feel out with experience. And as he adjusts to the speed of the NFL, this could be an ugly learning process until he figures out what he can and can’t get away with, assuming he ever does.

Mobility

Darnold’s mobility is an asset. He’s not particularly fast, but he’s determined and tough as a runner. This is both inspiring and terrifying as Darnold will do things like run into traffic, put the ball in his left hand and lead with shoulder into an opposing defender and block. Teammates will love it, fans will cheer while coaches, the front office and ownership all collectively hold their breath. He’s got to pick his spots, because at USC, he ran the ball like a tailback.

More from NFL Spin Zone

Darnold has shown remarkable toughness and seems to bounce right back up after taking shots, but as tough as he is, bones break as a matter of math as opposed to just toughing it out. Figuring out how to properly manage the risk and reward here will be important.

One of the best parts of Darnold’s game was rolling to his right, either on a bootleg or rolling right out of playaction. Again, he keeps his eyes down the field and is always looking to make a pass first, but he’s someone who can pick up a first down and extend a drive or get in the end zone. And Darnold is savvy enough where he will deliberately draw defenders to him and then sidestep throwing past them.

Decision Making

Darnold’s timing, accuracy and ball placement against man coverage is lethal. He throws receivers open and makes some tight throws look far more routine than they should be. Not only is he making the receiver’s job easier, but he’s also making it far more difficult for the defense to stop.

Zone defenses, combo coverages, late movements by defenses and defenders able to hold their water and give Darnold a hesitation in his read have given him substantial problems. Darnold will assume coverages and then end up wrong. Many of his interceptions or near interceptions were caused by misreads or assumptions in bad faith by Darnold. This is one of the areas where he’s still learning and still developing.

The other area that caused some of Darnold’s interceptions were thinking he could make throws he simply could not. Often on rollouts and under pressure, there are times when Darnold throws late or simply is throwing passes that have no chance of success and the results are downright ugly.

Darnold usually does a good job with his eyes in terms of manipulating defenders or at least disguising his intent on plays. He has shown the ability to help create windows for his receivers. Occasionally, he gets caught staring down a target and it gets him in trouble.

Miscellaneous

The track record for redshirt quarterbacks is horrible. There’s one Hall of Fame quarterback that came out as a redshirt sophomore: Norm Van Brocklin in the 1949 NFL Draft. He served in the Navy during World War II before going to Oregon and then the NFL at 23 years old. The most successful since have been Michael Vick and currently Jameis Winston.

Most quarterbacks who declare after their redshirt sophomore year don’t just fail, they implode. Two of the most notable implosions were Johnny Manziel and DeShone Kizer, both drafted by the Cleveland Browns.

Darnold ran a spread offense. The days of student body right are over at USC and Clay Helton installed a true spread offense, for those who are bothered by quarterbacks out of a spread offense. Likewise, it also means that Darnold didn’t play in the same offense that Mark Sanchez, Matt Leinhart or Matt Barkley played in, so while they shared the same uniform and played in the same stadium, that’s about all they have in common.

Darnold only started 22 games. Short of Mitchell Trubisky and Cam Newton (depending on how one chooses to count his time at Blinn College), every other projected starting quarterback (2018 NFL Draft included) will have more started more games in college than Darnold.

Darnold turned over the ball a lot. In 22 career stats, Darnold threw 22 interceptions and fumbled the ball 21 times, losing 14 of them. That works out to one interception and 0.95 fumbles per game. Both have to improve dramatically in the NFL.

Darnold on the Browns

Darnold needs to sit his rookie year. Not only does he need to firm up his mechanics and ingrain his footwork, he has to get significantly better at understanding what teams are throwing at him in terms of mixed or disguised coverages. NFL teams will take what he struggled against in college and ramp it up a level. Darnold needs to get better at diagnosing and understanding how to deal with these adjustments.

It’s extremely important and valuable that the Browns have Tyrod Taylor in place as the starting quarterback. Unlike last year where DeShone Kizer was picked to sit, then didn’t, Darnold should actually sit. He’ll have time to adjust to life as an adult, life in the NFL at such a young age, mastering the playbook and improving on the issues he had coming out of college.

Taylor has never played a full 16 games, so it stands to reason that Darnold would see some game action during the year. If it’s a game or two, that’s fine. If it’s a substantial amount of the year, it’s a problem. Darnold may be better equipped to deal with it than the head coach, who proved thoroughly incapable with the handling of DeShone Kizer.

Given the investment with Sam Darnold, the Brown shouldn’t allow Hue Jackson to be within 100 yards of Darnold. There’s too much at stake and the so-called quarterback guru has had six different quarterbacks in two seasons in Cleveland, including Robert Griffin III, Josh McCown, Cody Kessler, Kevin Hogan, Brock Osweiler and DeShone Kizer. Everything single one of them is gone and none of them are better for the experience.

Darnold should basically spend most of his time working with Ken Zampese, the quarterbacks coach and work to get comfortable and improve. After the Browns struggle to win six games this year, the Browns can fire Hue Jackson and find a coach that won’t screw up Darnold.

Coaching Darnold is unique and difficult, because it’s a delicate balance of correcting the issues he has while not stifling the areas that make him unique and special, so the less guys in his ear, the better.

Next: 2018 NFL Mock Draft: Full 7-Round projection

Conclusion

Sam Darnold is a unique prospect, because he does things that quarterbacks so often don’t. Between his ability to throw without his feet and just how unfazed he is in traffic, there are things he can do that no one else in the class and few in the league can do.

There’s so much ability in Darnold that needs to be refined and made consistent, but he also comes with substantial risk. The pressure at such a young age, lack of experience and turnovers all could be fatal flaws that sink his career in the NFL.

Darnold demonstrates franchise changing ability and has the potential to be an All-Pro quarterback, which could justify going No. 1 overall. The risk is high and the downside could be just as impactful. Having a plan and sticking with it will be critical to Darnold’s success. The Browns cannot make it up as they go along the way they did last year.

Home/Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns: Sam Darnold scouting report

By Peter Smith | Apr 16, 2018