Breaking Down the Sam Darnold Trade

 This NFL off-season continues to go crazy like we expected. After the flurry of moves following right after the Super Bowl and then once free agency opened, the craziness has died down a little bit just under a month to the NFL draft, but now, we have another huge move to discuss. Sam Darnold, the QB formerly of the Jets, has been traded to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for 3 draft picks. We will break it down what it means for everyone involved.

New York Jets: The Jets are the first side to talk about here. With this move, what everyone expected to happen, is now official. After a terrible season for the team which landed them the 2nd overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft, the Jets have seemed like a near lock to go QB with that pick. Now it is for sure. Sam Darnold hasn't been really the reason the team is so bad but at the same time he hasn't done much to help them win games. He has shown flashes of greatness but the Jets really haven't been able to surround him with good talent to let him cook. With Zach Wilson surely to be available for them at 2, the Darnold trade was almost inevitable. Wilson is coming off his pro day last week where he blew scouts away with his mobility and Mahomes-esque arm talent. This draft class has two elite QB prospects when most drafts don't even have one. I love the haul they got back for Darnold. It was looking like no one really was super interested in Darnold and the Jets might have been forced to trade him for one mid round pick at best, however, the Panthers sound like they were interested for awhile and have been negotiating with the Jets for some time now. The Jets get a 6th round pick this year and then a second and a fourth next year. Great work for them. The Jets already have an extra first this year and next year (Jamal Adams to Seattle trade) and now they begin stockpiling even more selections. With a top tier new coaching staff and soon to be new franchise QB, the Jets franchise is on the ups and this was a great move for them.

via ClutchPoints

Carolina Panthers: For the Panthers, I don't like the trade as much as I do for the Jets, but there is major upside. For the Jets, I pretty much only saw pros for that deal, but for the Panthers there are pros, but also cons. Starting off with the pros, this is the Panthers less expensive way of trying to win now. With a great roster being built in Carolina, they are really just missing that franchise QB. They have a good enough o-line, one of the best RBs in the NFL in Christian McCaffrey, and a WR trio of DJ Moore, Robby Anderson, and David Moore. Those are some really great weapons that will be at Darnold's disposal which are unlike any he had in New York. Did I forget to mention who their coach is either? Matt Rhule who is entering his second year on the job is one of the brightest young coaches in football. He is the king of rebuilding programs and he is well on his way here in Carolina. With the offensive firepower the team has along with he and OC Joe Brady's coaching, Sam Darnold is really set up to succeed. The Panthers gave up some good future picks to get him, but nothing like the assets they would have had to package to move up into the top 5 to secure one of the best QBs in this draft. This move was to try and win now by surrounding Darnold with talent and hoping he can be enough opposed to having to give up a lot more and trade up for a QB in the draft. The cons are that Darnold doesn't have as high of upside as the draft QBs and he will be more expensive much faster. The QBs in the draft have 4-5 years on their cheap rookie deals before needing that crazy QB payday, Darnold is up for an extension after this season and will not be a cheap one if he plays well this year. Overall, I think this trade was a win for both teams and I'm excited to see how both team's offenses play this season.

Sam Darnold: If you are Sam Darnold, this is a dream scenario. You were just traded to one of the best situations you could be right now for a QB. You have two of the best football minds in the league as your top coaches in HC Matt Rhule and OC Joe Brady. You have the league's best pass catching RB and a trio of super talented receivers. You even have a defense on that is up and coming to bail you out. Finally on top of all of that, the team still holds the 8th overall pick in the draft which they can use to get one more weapon like Florida TE Kyle Pitts (probably who the Panthers are praying falls to them). So, with all of this around you, you can finally prove you are the QB worthy of the top 3 pick you were taken with a few years back. If you do, you will be instantly in line for a HUGE payday. This is a dream come true for Sam Darnold and I think the Panthers could be a sneaky good team this coming season with him at the helm. 

Teddy Bridgewater: The final name to discuss here is Bridgewater. I won't say much about him but he is likely done as a starter in Carolina. The teams GM came out and said they would find him somewhere to play whether it was in Carolina or elsewhere but that statement basically does mean he will be moved. An unfortunate move for him as he will have to hope to catch on somewhere where he can prove he is a quality QB again after a poor 2020 season in Carolina.