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In-Depth Breakdown of Sam Darnold by Eliot Crist and Other Analysts


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He's a winner, has excellent pocket presence, can extend plays, is very accurate, shows command and plays his best football in the clutch.  He's the best QB in the draft and if the Bills find a way to get him he'll be the best we've had since Jim Kelly.  

 

Rosen has all of the tools but my bet is he wouldn't have finished the Ohio State game with the pressure they were bringing and his receivers not winning against tight man coverage.  Darnold is a competitor and he's going to be great.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Chicken Boo said:

I was anti-Darnold up until the Cotton Bowl.  He was under extreme pressure most of the game, but when he did have a clean pocket he made some great throws.   He's tough and not gun-shy at all.  Live arm and great accuracy.

He really had no time to do anything - it was like they lined up 5 turnstiles for an OL...the downfield throws that he made  with DL in his face (except for the pick 6) were impressive 

Edited by YoloinOhio
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9 hours ago, Jay_Fixit said:

His mechanics are far from horrible. He has a long throwing motion, but that doesn’t mean the mechanics are “horrible.” His footwork is fine and he knows how to manipulate the pocket.

 

You know who else has a long throwing motion? Russell Wilson.

 

 

I was trying to Google your scouting report. Glad I came here.

Darnold's decision making can be very problematic.  He will give the ball away.   He's got a great deal of physical talent, but he is no sure thing, draft hype notwithstanding.  

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3 minutes ago, purple haze said:

Darnold's decision making can be very problematic.  He will give the ball away.   He's got a great deal of physical talent, but he is no sure thing, draft hype notwithstanding.  

 

At 20 years old he has time on his side to develop further. 

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2 hours ago, 26CornerBlitz said:

 

At 20 years old he has time on his side to develop further. 

Most definitely.  I'm just saying he needs that development.  Folks shouldn't expect him to come into whatever organization and be a difference maker from the jump.  It could happen, but...

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10 hours ago, purple haze said:

Most definitely.  I'm just saying he needs that development.  Folks shouldn't expect him to come into whatever organization and be a difference maker from the jump.  It could happen, but...

I agree with that. DeShone Kizer was the youngest starting qb in the league last year on a bad team. I agreed with the decision to start him,  because why not when you have no one else but marginally talented  inexperienced guys like Kessler and Hogan and Brock Osweiler who they eventually cut.

 

But he needed another year of cfb as well (though I understand why he came out). Similar to Kizer, Darnold may get drafted by the Browns and show flashes but look confused and turn the ball over a lot. That fan base will have zero patience for that again. Last year some were like ok, let’s get the #1 pick and get Darnold, it’s ok if we are winless. Well, now you did that, got Darnold, might be in same place as with Kizer on development and time needed. Now, I agree with starting the rookie right away and I believe Darnold has a higher potential for success overall than Kizer. But it’s a bad team coached by a bad HC. And it’s still going to take time. The quick “fix” for the Browns is Cousins if they can get him. But that fix is likely to 7-9 imo, not playoffs. Cousins is almost 30. I think their window isn’t now, it’s 2-3 years from now. The best fit for Cousins is a team with a currently open window with strong coaching, personnel in their prime, and a strong culture. 

 

OTOH, if they can get Cousins in FA it will help them sign other players in their prime in FA. That’s the key for them, as their team is a ton of rookies and inexperience atm.

Edited by YoloinOhio
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There are always going to be varying degrees of opinions with top QB prospects like this. But my sources out west (specifically those dialed in to USC) insist Darnold's floor is Phillip Rivers, and if that's the case he's obviously a true blue chip prospect because if PR is worst case it's scary to think what the ceiling is.

 

This is also why it's my understanding the Bills (and probably many other teams) have him #1 on their draft board or near the very top. It would be great to land him but likely a pipe dream for us because no way the Browns are passing on him twice with their two top 5 picks.

 

At the end of the day you need to truly suck to have a chance at a generational talent like this the Bills obviously didn't last year.

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22 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

Don't see the Rodgers comparison as the ceiling either. His arm isn't that electric 

 

I think on the high end he is a Big Ben. Big, athletic, can throw from the pocket but is dangerous throwing on the move, tough to sack 

 

If he becomes Big Ben whoever drafted him will be mighty happy 

 

Darnold is about 220lbs.

Rodgers was 224@ combine I think.

Ben was 240+@combine.

He's more comparable to Rodgers size, but I do agree about the arm and style being more comparable to Ben

11 minutes ago, SaviorPeterman said:

There are always going to be varying degrees of opinions with top QB prospects like this. But my sources out west (specifically those dialed in to USC) insist Darnold's floor is Phillip Rivers, and if that's the case he's obviously a true blue chip prospect because if PR is worst case it's scary to think what the ceiling is.

 

This is also why it's my understanding the Bills (and probably many other teams) have him #1 on their draft board or near the very top. It would be great to land him but likely a pipe dream for us because no way the Browns are passing on him twice with their two top 5 picks.

 

At the end of the day you need to truly suck to have a chance at a generational talent like this the Bills obviously didn't last year.

 

"Sources out west" "dialed in at USC"

 

Stahp.

 

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22 minutes ago, SouthNYfan said:

 

Darnold is about 220lbs.

Rodgers was 224@ combine I think.

Ben was 240+@combine.

He's more comparable to Rodgers size, but I do agree about the arm and style being more comparable to Ben

 

"Sources out west" "dialed in at USC"

 

Stahp.

 

 

Yea I know he said not Big Ben weight ...

 

i was just comparing playing style and I see a lot of similarities 

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8 minutes ago, SouthNYfan said:

 

Yeah fair enough

I just think he needs to fill out or he'll get killed

 

Yea but he has not weighed in officially to my knowledge yet

 

I wouldn't surprise to see him at 225 , maybe more 

 

He a thicker guy, bigger than Rosen and Mayfield who just weighed in at 216

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1 minute ago, Buffalo716 said:

 

Yea but he has not weighed in officially to my knowledge yet

 

I wouldn't surprise to see him at 225 , maybe more 

 

He a thicker guy, bigger than Rosen and Mayfield who just weighed in at 216

 

That's solid

I'm surprised how thin Lamar Jackson legs are, he's gone get broken in half

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13 hours ago, purple haze said:

Darnold's decision making can be very problematic.  He will give the ball away.   He's got a great deal of physical talent, but he is no sure thing, draft hype notwithstanding.  

 

He's a true gunslinger and quite frankly USC had somewhat of a down year because of constantly being depleted of talent year after year in the NFL draft.

 

I would love to land Sam Darnold and unless the Browns are completely retarded and inept the guy they have been waiting for to turn their pathetic franchise around has fallen right into their laps.

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11 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

 

He is pretty skinny... some guys just can't get that thickness 

 

He has to change his game definitely 

He might be able to get there. It was a question mark of mariota as well (thin). Mariota has been banged up a bit though.

 

edit: I wanted to look up mariota’s weight at the combine - 222 as compared to LJ who is about 10 lb lighter. Yet he’s an inch taller than LJ. I do remember criticism of skinny legs with mariota.

Edited by YoloinOhio
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