New York Jets: Sam Darnold’s fit in the West Coast offense
It seems like a perfect fit in New York. The New York Jets run the West Coast offense, and it’s a perfect fit for Sam Darnold’s skills.
The New York Jets are in a great position with their quarterbacks. They have a guy who’s good enough to hold down the fort. They also have a young quarterback with playoff experience — albeit coming off an injury. Finally they have the guy they believe to be a franchise quarterback they drafted this year.
When it comes to running the West Coast Offense (WCO), you need a quarterback who’s accurate. It’s also an offense based on quick and short throws. According to Pro Football Focus, Sam Darnold was the best in college football on the quick plays in the WCO.
He led the nation in accuracy percentage — which accounts for things that could be or are outside the quarterback’s control (ie. throw aways and drops) — on the quick throws. He was also the best at hitting receivers in the best spot to catch the ball.
According the Pro Football Focus QB annual guide, Accuracy+ is “percent age of throws on the receiver’s ‘frame’.” He hit the receiver within that target area 19.1 percent of the time.
While the NFL is a completely different animal than college in terms of coverage, there was only one NFL quarterback with a higher overall accuracy+ rating according to PFF — Tom Brady.
Senior analysts @PFF_Steve and @Zac_Robinson5 discuss how Sam Darnold fits into Jeremy Bates' offensive system in our latest YouTube video ⬇️https://t.co/oiBg08khW8 pic.twitter.com/BXx4Mv7BpE
— PFF NY Jets (@PFF_Jets) June 25, 2018
https://twitter.com/PFF_Jets/status/994222905767718913
In the last two seasons the Jets have had two players — Quincy Enunwa (2016) and Jermaine Kearse (2017) — be among the top 50 players in the NFL in yards after catch. In the West Coast Offense, in order to get YAC, a receiver needs a quarterback who can be precise on his throws, especially the short ones.
Next: 2019 NFL Mock Draft: Way too early projection for next year
If Darnold can show what he did at USC, in terms of the accuracy on the short and rhythm timing throws, wasn’t a fluke. He will be well on his was to a starting role with this team. The Jets are throwing the book at him, and if he passes the test, you will see him in Detroit on Sept. 10.