New York Jets: Can Sam Darnold break NFL rookie records?

If the New York Jets start Sam Darnold from Week 1 — and he plays in and finishes all 16 games — he has the potential to break rookie records.

When the New York Jets moved up to No. 3 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, most people thought it was a foregone conclusion they wouldn’t land Sam Darnold. Most people believed the Cleveland Browns would take him at No. 1 overall, and if not, the New York Giants would snatch him. Neither did, and the Jets landed the best quarterback in the draft.

Darnold processes information quickly, is accurate and possesses a good arm for the NFL. He also has weapons on all three levels of the field. He has two deep threats in Terrelle Pryor and Robby Anderson, has Quincy Enunwa who gives him options over the middle and deep, a tight end in Jordan Leggett to attack in between the numbers on all levels, and good pass catching options out of the backfield — and one back who can line up almost everywhere (Dimitri Flowers).

The combination of deep and red zone threats and his accuracy make Darnold a prime candidate to break some rookie quarterback records, namely passing yards and touchdowns.

Currently those are both held by quarterbacks of the Indianapolis Colts — Andrew Luck (yards) and Peyton Manning (touchdowns). In fact, given his accuracy, he could be the first quarterback in NFL history with 4,000 yards as a rookie with a completion percentage of 60 percent or higher.

Cam Newton was the closest with a completion percentage of 59.96 as a rookie. In fact, only three rookie quarterbacks have reached 60 percent completion rate with at least 3,000 and 20 touchdowns (Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson and Dak Prescott). Besides that stats, all three of those quarterbacks had something else in common. They all made it to the playoffs.

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So a chance at rookie records and the playoffs for Darnold? That’s a tall order for someone who won’t be 21 years old until the end of organized team activities. As is commonly said, though, age is just a number, and if Darnold is ready, he’s ready.