Sam Darnold or Ryan Tannehill: Which quarterback would you want?

The Case For Sam Darnold

Any time you’re a high draft choice, the sky seems to be the limit for you. Through two seasons, Darnold has flashed the talent that persuaded the Jets to take him third overall in 2018.

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Of course, being that high of a draft pick meant that Darnold would likely not be going to a good team. In Darnold’s first season as a Jet, the team went 4-12. The following year bore better fruit, though New York still finished one game under .500.

In other words, Darnold has not been in the best situation for a young quarterback. His head coach, Adam Gase, has had issues with controlling the locker room in the past — reports say that still continues as evidenced by the Jamal Adams fiasco.

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Aside from potential off-the-field problems, the team has struggled to field a viable supporting cast for Darnold. In 2019, 6 percent of Darnold’s throws were dropped by his teammates, the third-highest rate in the league. In comparison, Tannehill only experienced a 3.2 percent drop rate, good for the second-lowest rate.

It’s not like Darnold hasn’t been unable to make the throws, either. 17.8 percent of his passes were deemed as bad throws by Pro Football Reference’s advanced passing metrics. If accuracy were judged by one stat, this would have made Darnold the 15th-most accurate quarterback in the NFL last season.

Darnold’s offensive line hasn’t done him any favors, either. Darnold was the 12th-most sacked quarterback over the last two seasons, and he only played 26 out of 32 games. When adjusted for sacks per pass attempts, Darnold becomes the 10th-most sacked passer.

If that isn’t enough to display the lack of help for Darnold, consider that all of the Jets’ wins in the last two seasons have been with Darnold as the starting quarterback. Basically, we haven’t been able to see Darnold’s best self because of the lack of help around him. After the Jets gifted him a revamped offensive line in the offseason, perhaps we’ll finally get to see the 23-year-old at his best.

His first two seasons compare similarly to the first two seasons of another third-overall draft pick: Matt Ryan. While the two quarterbacks have differing styles, Darnold and Ryan’s stats were nearly identical. The two biggest differences come in overall record and sacks, which strongly favored Ryan in his first two seasons.

Not that history dictates Darnold’s future, but Ryan’s third season kickstarted his leap to becoming an All-Pro quarterback. If Ryan can do that with a better team, imagine what Darnold could do in 2020 and beyond.