Former New York Jets Top Draft Pick May Be Starting Elsewhere This Season

The New York Jets drafted Sam Darnold at No. 3 overall in 2018, and six years later, the well-traveled quarterback is projected to start for his new team.

Aug 2, 2024; Eagan, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) warms up during practice at Vikings training camp in Eagan, MN. / Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Jets gave up on Sam Darnold three years into the young quarterback's pro career.

Initially billed as the franchise field general that the organization yearned for, Darnold went to the Jets with the No. 3 overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft. Hindsight is always 20-20 vision, but it's impossible to look past the fact that Josh Allen wasn't selected until four picks after Darnold while Lamar Jackson dropped 29 spots down the board after New York's choice.

In 2018, however, early indications were that the Jets found their guy. Darnold was serviceable as a rookie, passing for 2,865 yards and 17 touchdowns over 13 starts. Unfortunately, he never seemed to take another step forward in his progression and the situation became messy thanks to the Jets and former head coach Adam Gase. From a bout with mononucleosis to "seeing ghosts" on Monday Night Football, Darnold dropped out of the organization's long-term plans.

The Jets traded Darnold to the Carolina Panthers during the 2021 offseason. He played out his rookie contract, and fifth-year option, with Carolina but it turned out to be a failed experiment and the two sides moved in different directions after the 2022 campaign.

After a one-year stint in San Francisco, Darnold has landed with the Minnesota Vikings as the veteran in their quarterbacks room and appears on track for a significant role in 2024.

During his annual NFL training camp tour, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer even suggested that Darnold will wind up starting over first-round rookie JJ McCarthy. After Tuesday's news that McCarthy will need surgery to repair a torn meniscus, that possibility is more real than ever.

"My sense is Sam Darnold is going to be the starting quarterback, for a few reasons. The first is that he’s really improved. He’s playing faster than he did earlier in his career ... . Playing for Ben McAdoo and Kyle Shanahan also gave Darnold a really good baseline for the transition to Kevin O’Connell’s system, and the decisiveness with which he’s playing now make that evident. The second reason? While J.J. McCarthy’s arm talent, athleticism and intangibles have come as advertised, I believe O’Connell is going to be very disciplined about actually putting the rookie out there—this won’t be one of those situations where the team has a couple tough weeks, and they put him out there to try and create a spark. ...," wrote Breer.

In the Monday edition of his Takeaways column, Breer dove deeper into Darnold's maturation and drew a parallel between the USC product and former Jets' second-round pick Geno Smith, who has gone from cast-off to adequate NFL starter.

"For me, Darnold’s story and makeup mirrors Smith’s in a lot of ways, really left the station on Christmas night. Darnold was Brock Purdy’s backup in San Francisco, and the San Francisco 49ers were getting blown out by the Baltimore Ravens, which is what landed Darnold on the field in the fourth quarter of that game. There probably weren’t a lot of folks watching at that point. But I was, and I saw a new Darnold. The Jets could've used Darnold in 2023," said Breer.

While New York cycled through underwhelming quarterback options after Aaron Rodgers was lost for the season, Darnold was the backup for the NFC champions. Now, as he re-establishes his NFL career in Minnesota, the Jets will be left wondering what could have been.