The Race for Sam Darnold: The Jets Will Have Competition
By Jason McIntyre
Sam Darnold is the best QB in college football. If he comes out, he will be the #1 pick in the draft. People will try to debate you on it, but don’t bite. It’ll be Sam Darnold. The only question is who will draft 1st. We’ll analyze the leaders each week:
NY Jets 0-2. Have the worst offensive skill position players in the NFL. The Bears are down there, but they have injuries and a good running back; the Browns are down there, but Isaiah Crowell or Duke Johnson would be the best player on the Jets offense. An 0-16 season in New York is seriously in play. They might give the Dolphins some fight for three quarters this week, though.
49ers 0-3. Difficult team to get a read on after three games, but this much I feel confident in saying: No shot at .500, and six wins could be a stretch. The front seven has been a letdown so far, and they’re already 0-2 in perhaps the weakest division in the NFL.
Chicago 0-2. The Bears schedule is brutal: Pittsburgh, Green Bay, Minnesota, Baltimore and Carolina are next. So they’ll probably be 0-7 before we see 1st round pick Mitch Trubisky. The defense is solid, and I can possibly see wins over the Saints, Lions, 49ers, Bengals and Browns. The Bears are invested in Trubisky, but Darnold has much more upside. Unless you want to trade the #1 pick for a massive haul
Saints 0-2. With Drew Brees and Sean Payton, there’s just no way they can finish with a top five pick … right? The recent September woes have not carried over, and the Saints have finished 7-9 three years in a row. Just for fun: They’re 1-6 and a QB of a playoff team goes down. Could the Saints decide to tank and trade Brees and fire Payton?
Browns 0-2. Covered at home against the Steelers, and played the Ravens tough on the road and moved the ball well, but were done in by five turnovers. Deshone Kizer has been impressive at QB, and the defense hasn’t even had #1 pick Myles Garrett yet. Feels like maybe a 5-win team.
Chargers 0-2. Sneaky fear of mine – Philip Rivers goes down, and the Chargers make a run at 1-15. But the defense is probably too good for that bad a season.