New York Jets: Where Sam Darnold can make immediate impact
Rookie first-round picks at quarterback can make a huge impact on a team, and Sam Darnold can do that with the play calling for the New York Jets in 2018.
In 2017, the New York Jets offense was bland and predictable. That led to the firing of offensive coordinator John Morton after the season was over. Then Jeremy Bates was elevated to the position while maintaining his position as quarterbacks coach.
In the 2018 NFL Draft, Sam Darnold fell to the Jets at No. 3 overall, and they really had no choice but to take him. There’s a lot of debate as to when he will make his debut in 2018. However, there’s one area where Darnold can make an immediate impact the day — the play calling of Bates.
The Jets attempted a total of 56 passes of 20 or more yards in the air in 2018. That’s an average of 3.5 per game, which ranked 26th in the NFL. Their rate of 10.98 percent ranked 23rd in the NFL. Every single playoff team had a higher rate of deep passes (according to Pro Football Focus), and only one playoff team fell outside the top 20.
Even though Josh McCown had a good passer rating on balls that traveled at least 20 yards in the air, before his injury, he only attempted 45. The Jets attempted more per game with Bryce Petty than they did with McCown.
According to Pro Football Focus, Darnold attempted 101 passes down the field 20-plus yards, with a passer rating of 98.0 on said passes.
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Josh Allen got the praise for his arm strength, but it’s one thing to have a strong arm and another to use it well. Darnold uses it well, and that will lend itself to the Jets taking more chances downfield and opening up the playbook. Those options then limit the defense’s ability to stack the box, and that opens up the running game.
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In addition to that, Jets receivers are reliable, as they only had 22 drops in 2017. Combine that with Darnold’s ability downfield, and that’s recipe for success. Even though, typically, rookie quarterbacks tend to struggle, this team is set up for Darnold to have a season like Andrew Luck did in 2012.