For what feels like months now, I have been sorta sideways projecting Sam Darnold to the Seattle Seahawks for this offseason. Now, it is officially a feather in my cab.

For me, I just made too much sense. If Geno Smith and Sam Darnold are essentially parallel with each other as NFL quarterbacks, as many believe, Sam Darnold is seven years younger, and that flips the scales for me as a Seattle Seahawk fan, and I say this being a fan of Geno Smith.

It further made sense to me after the news broke about Klint Kubiak taking over the offensive coordinator job here in Seattle. Kubiak runs a very similar system to what the Vikings do, and he was Darnold’s QB coach for a year in San Francisco. When Seattle hired Kubiak, the dots connecting to Darnold felt significantly stronger.

But I have pining for, and projecting Sam Darnold to Seattle long before Kubiak landed here.

I started calling it back in December when the Minnesota Vikings game to town and Darnold had an absolute kick ass game against an ascending Seahawk defense. He out dueled Geno Smith in a very competitive game with tons of playoff implications for both teams.

There was a young Vikings fan sitting behind me, very polite young sir, and every time Darnold made a badass throw under pressure, I turned to him, and said “I want your quarterback.”

He just smiled and nodded and politely said “sure, maybe, but I think Minnesota is going to want to hang onto him.”

Indeed, in days leading up to free agency, the Vikings were trying to make a push to get Sam back on a well compensated short term deal, but he wanted bigger commitment. He earned that.

From the Vikings perspective, it makes sense to want him back because of the uncertainty of JJ McCarthy’s health, perhaps his durability, and his stage of development. Despite the late stage two game collapse that critics of Darnold love to point at, he played very well for them in 2024. Like, really, really well.. MVP consideration well.

Personally, I don’t think his 2024 play was a fluke. As he spent a year in San Francisco soaking up the Shanahan offense from the perspective of backing up Brock Purdy, I suspect Sam Darnold got much needed perspective after rough tours of duty in dysfunctional Carolina and even more dysfunctional New York Jets Land. I think it is entirely possible that his year off from starting allowed him to figure out better how to be a quality NFL quarterback in a proper offensive scheme that suits his abilities.

Viking head coach Kevin O’Connell made a shrewd move signing Darnold last year as a bridge starter to the quarterback they were determined to draft. O’Connell coaches essentially the same system as Kyle Shanahan, and I suspect he had a pretty good idea that a year of Darnold interning for Kyle was going to make him a better quarterback for it. The Vikings were very quick to sign Darnold last year, and I am sure it was a move that many in the media and fans across the league giggled at.

“Sam Darnold (snort).. yeah, right.”

When will fans, and media ever learn that we should never judge a quarterback for whatever they did, or did not do when playing for the New York Jets. Seahawk fans, of all people, should know not to lay judgement after three years of Geno Smith.

If you want to bring up the “I’m seeing ghosts” moment that Darnold had on the sidelines back in 2019 when playing against a dominant New England Patriot defense, go for it. For me, I think Bill Belichick has had a lot of quality NFL quarterbacks seeing ghosts in games over the years, and the only thing I would criticize Darnold for is perhaps being a bit too honest with teammates in the heat of the battle. A more seasoned quarterback might have kept those thoughts to himself in that moment.

Truth be known, I have been a Sam Darnold fan for many years now, going back to a cold wet miserable night in Seattle, Washington, in the late Fall of 2016, when the underdog USC Trojans came into Husky Stadium and put an absolute ass whooping on a Husky football team that some thought could go after a national title. I watched that game in my little TV den, and what I saw was this big, tall, sophomore quarterback stare down pressure against a very fierce front seven of the Washington Husky defense, and just throw laser guided darts downfield in the cold windy rain, hitting receiver after receiver in the process. I mean, this walk on sophomore kid was Tom Brady-like badass in that game. It was disappointing as a Husky fan, but objectively as a football fan, it was an impressive display of quarterbacking against very tough conditions on the road.

When I was at Lumen Field watching the Seahawks duke it out against the Vikings, that 2024 version of Sam Darnold looked exactly like that sophomore USC version eight years prior. So, I turned to this young Viking fan, and I told him that I wanted his quarterback.

I did. I really wanted him, and I am happy I got him.

I am looking forward to watching Sam Darnold quarterbacking the Seahawks. This is something that I have been hoping on and off for a few years now, actually.

I remember it well back in 2021 when it was reported that Russell Wilson wanted out and we reportedly had a deal in place with Chicago to send him there for two first round picks and maybe Khalil Mack. In that trade scenario, some were reporting that Seattle was going to try to trade for Darnold who was still with the Jets. Feeling more disenchanted with Russ, my buddy Daniel and I were messaging each other back and forth almost daily about it, and how cool it would be to get Pete Carroll this talented young USC kid who was getting fucked over by the Jets.

But that trade with Chicago never happened and we never got Darnold. He got shipped to Carolina instead, and got kinda screwed over there, as well.

We got him now, though, and on a three year Baker Mayfield style contract that feels very reasonable for him, and Seattle. He has three years to prove 2024 wasn’t a fluke, and Seattle has three years to see if he is the longer termed solution, or if they should draft and develop behind him. I think this is ideal for both sides.

And look, I get if you are skeptical about this move, or if you’re annoyed that they moved on from Geno, and replaced him with a very similar quarterback. I even get it if you think Sam Darnold isn’t as good as Geno Smith. Everyone is welcome to their views, and I think in this Darnold signing, we are apt to see a wide range of them.

Long time NFL Draft analyst and Seahawk insider Rob Rang believes that Darnold is an upgrade over Geno Smith, and has said as much. He studied both players through college, has watched them both as pros, and he thinks Darnold is the more talented guy.

Richard Sherman, on the other hand, called this a lateral move by the Seahawks, and noted that Geno Smith has better moves in the pocket to extend out of pressure.

Big time Seahawks fan and ESPN personality Mina Kimes voiced her skepticism over Darnold in Seattle, echoing concerns about his ability to play in the face of pressure. She believes Darnold is great when he has protection, but struggles in the face of pressure, and that it is essential that Seattle to improve their offensive line for this bet on Darnold to pay off (duh).

I like Mina Kimes a lot, but I decided to test her assertion of Darnold in pressure situations in 2024. According to quick internet search, it appears that Darnold had one of the best under pressure passer ratings of out of any quarterback in the 2024, second only to Joe Burrow, in fact. Under pressure, he completed 80 or 151 passes for 1,157 yards, 13 touchdowns with only 5 interceptions for a QB rating of 93.1. I think I would take those numbers in Seattle.

I felt the need to test Kimes take on Darnold. I am not calling her takes lazy, but they didn’t match what I saw close in person against the Seahawks last December when he was decidedly the better quarterback, throwing an absolute spectacular, game winning, touchdown bomb down the left sideline when he rolled left out of pressure to make the throw. It was an absolute MVP worthy throw, and it was an absolute dagger in the heart of Seahawk fans because we almost had that game in the bag until he made that late fourth quarter play.

Let me throw a couple more factoids your way about what Darnold did in 2024 for the Vikes, if you are a strong skeptic of this signing.

He was the 8th best red zone performing quarterback in 2024, completing 70% of his passes for 24 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions. In contrast, Geno Smith was the 23rd best passer with a 48% competition rate, and only 10 touchdowns along with 5 interceptions.

Sam Darnold was significantly better at red zone quarterbacking over Geno Smith, and this is indisputable. I am not using this platform to trash Geno and say Sam Darnold is light years better, but I am showing you reasons why I believe this move for Darnold was a smart one for Seattle, and why I am glad they did it.

Now, you will hear a very lazy narrative out there that Sam was supported by a way better offensive line than what Geno had to deal with and had better weapons. While I do think that the Vikings receivers were collectively better, I think Seattle had a way better backfield of runner, and they just were not used nearly enough (don’t get me started on Ryan Grubb again).

But as for the offensive lines of Seattle and Minnesota, was Minnie’s really significantly better? You sure you want to die on that hill arguing that?

According to Brian Nemhauser (AKA Hawkblogger Dude), Seattle’s offensive line had the worst pass blocking efficiency rate in the league last year, but Minnosota’s efficiency was actually third worst in the league. This flies in the face of the narrative that Darnold was working with a great offensive line.

He wasn’t. Not even close. He was just working with a better play caller than Geno was, and a guy aligned with Klint Kubiak’s philosophy.

Some other nice 2024 numbers for Sam. While Minnesota functions as a quick passing Shanahan style offense reliant on short to intermediate throws over the middle, he led the league in deep passing throwing yards, led the league in deep throw completions, and he was tied for the most deep throw touchdowns.

Sam Darnold was not some check down Charlie Jimmy G quarterback in 2024. He successfully attacked defenses at all three levels of the field, big time.

So what about those last two games against Detroit and the LA Rams in the playoffs?

I won’t excuse the poor play of Darnold, but the whole Viking team played bad in both of those games on both sides of the ball, and I also think O’Connell got out coached, as well. Darnold played bad, the offensive line played bad, the defense played bad, and O’Connell arrogantly called a pass happy game against defenses selling out to get to Darnold.

There were plenty of opportunities for the young head coach to adjust and lean into the run in order to stabilize his offense, but he failed to do it. When teams send the house, that’s when you start hitting them with the draws, you adjust, and force them to play honest.

I don’t know what was in the head of O’Connell against the Lions, and the Rams, but maybe Darnold’s jaw dropping game against the Packers in Week 16 when he threw for over 377 yard and 3 touchdowns had something to do with it. Perhaps O’Connell got too caught up in the sudden Darnold MVP hype, and a desperate Lions team in week 17 caught them with their pants down by selling out with the blitz, and gave the blue print to the Rams in the wildcard round of the playoffs to do the same.

If you are nervous about Darnold in those two games, I am not going to try to convince you to not be nervous. I am just going to say that I am confident that, here in Seattle, in similar circumstances, Mike Macdonald is likely not going to allow for that sort of reckless pass happiness. He fired his last offensive coordinator for having that ailment.

So, do I think Sam Darnold is going to lead us to the promise land, and get us a Super Bowl ring in the next three years?

I don’t know, but I think he can be pretty good. I get the sense that things are finally clicking for him at age 27 much like things finally clicked for Matt Hasselbeck when he got a second shot at starting at age 27 over twenty years ago. Sometimes it takes quarterbacks a while.

It too Hasselbeck a while, backing up Brett Farve, getting an opportunity to be a starter in Seattle, struggling, getting benched, being a backup again, and then finally getting an opportunity to start again. Seattle had a nice little seven year run with Hass starting, and they did get to a Super Bowl with him.

I don’t think Matt Hasselbeck twenty years ago is determinably better than Sam Darnold is now. In fact, I think Darnold is a significanlty better athlete with a strong arm than vintage mid 2000’s Hass.

I can see the argument that this is a lateral move towards Darnold for Seattle, but I also cannot shake the fact that he is seven years younger than Geno Smith, and in that, probably does have greater upside.

I’m very curious about how this could go for him here in Seattle, reunited with Klint Kubiak who was his QB coach in San Francisco and is his play caller here now. These two know each other, and can speak the language of the offense together. I think that matters a lot.

So, yeah. I really dig this move a lot. I’m excited.

Now go build up that offensive line, and maybe bring in Cooper Kupp.

Go Hawks.