New York Jets: Past has nothing to do with Sam Darnold

The most ridiculous thing coming out of the draft from fans of the New York Jets is the expectation of failure for Sam Darnold because he’s a USC quarterback.

Let’s talk about fans rather than Sam Darnold for a minute. If you’re a graduate of secondary or post-secondary educations, would you want the expectations of you to be based on what you’re able to do, or would you want people to expect the same from you that they got from whatever your alma mater is? I bet you’d want the expectations of you to be based on your own merits rather than the performance of others.

Well, that’s now what new New York Jets quarterback and No. 3 overall pick Sam Darnold is facing coming into the scrutiny of the New York media and fan base.

Is it true that a USC quarterback has never made a Super Bowl appearance? Yes. The first round picks — Todd Marinovich, Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart and Mark Sanchez — have a combined record as starters of 140-138-1. That has nothing to do with Darnold though.

Purdue and Alabama have sent the most quarterbacks to the Super Bowl winning quarterbacks with three each. Additionally, we’ve seen quarterbacks from Delaware, Grambling State, Louisiana Tech, BYU, Ole Miss, Miami University (Ohio), Fresno State, Morehead State, Northern Iowa, and Southern Mississippi win Super Bowls.

ESPN’s Todd McShay was 100 percent correct in what he told ESPN’s Rich Cimini:

"“With Darnold, it’s different. I think you make a mistake if you just paint it with a broad brush, saying every USC quarterback is going to be a failure in the NFL.”"

Maybe the Jets should’ve waited for a quarterback from Alabama or Purdue to come out, right? Well, no Alabama quarterback has win a Super Bowl since Super Bowl XI — 41 years ago — and as far as Purdue goes, it was 37 years after Bob Griese won Super Bowl VII that Drew Brees won his.

Next: NFL Draft 2018: Grades for each first-round pick

For those that wanted Baker Mayfield or Josh Allen, no quarterback from Oklahoma or Wyoming has ever appeared in the Super Bowl either. So, before you cast a wide net, let’s just let his play do the talking.