Sam Darnold is the perfect example of persistence paying off. Darnold was selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, out of USC by the New York Jets.
This was the first major setback that he had to overcome. When it comes to drafting quarterbacks who ultimately don’t pan out, the Jets, as well as the Cleveland Browns, are in a class all by themselves.
During his three years with the Jets organization, he compiled a 13-25 record as a starter, tossing 45 TD passes against 39 interceptions. Maybe the worst part of his Jets career came when ESPN put up a graphic reading “Out Indefinitely: Mononucleosis” juxtaposed against a moving image of Darnold pointing and gesturing aggressively.
The low point came when this graphic became a punchline, and immediately memed to the point of absurdity. Like mono itself, this Darnold meme/gif went viral. The Dana Point, CA then went to Carolina for two seasons, 2021-22, where he put up similarly mediocre numbers.
There was nothing too impressive about his stint there, ditto for his time with San Francisco. He only played 10 games, and started just one with the 49ers. It was with Minnesota, his fourth team, where he turned his career around.
His one season in Minnesota, 2024 was scintillating. This is where he started living up to 3rd overall pick status, posting a season passer rating of 102.4, to go along with 35 TD passes vs only 12 interceptions.
He also threw for 4,319 yards while leading the Vikings to a 14-3 record. He joined the Seahawks for this past season, and he had another stellar season, setting new career highs in completion percentage and yards per attempt.
Most importantly, Darnold led the Seahawks to greatest glory of all: a Super Bowl triumph.
It just goes to show you- one should not totally write off a really high draft pick, after just a couple seasons. Sometimes, the best is yet to come later on.
Or as Drake would say, “started from the bottom now we here” for Darnold.
This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: Darnold, written off years ago, now at football’s pinnacle