Sam Darnold

Darnold finally lived up to what was expected when he was drafted third overall in 2018. He set career highs across the board last season, including 35 TD passes, fifth in the league, as he finished QB9 in fantasy. Darnold’s completion percentage ranked only 16th, but that’s partly because his average target depth was 8.9 yards, fifth highest. In fact, of the 11 QBs whose aDOT topped 8.5 yards, Darnold’s 66.2 completion percentage was higher than all but Lamar Jackson's (66.7 percent). Darnold was excellent throwing deep, leading the league with a 46.7 completion percentage and nine TDs on attempts of 20-plus yards. He had an 18:2 TD:INT in Weeks 11-17, but the Vikings soured when he failed to throw a TD with the NFC North on the line Week 18 and then took nine sacks in the wild-card round. Minnesota let him leave this offseason, opting against a franchise tag and declining to make a competitive offer. Darnold quickly signed a three-year, $100.5 million contract with Seattle, where his struggles under pressure -- 31st in on-target rate under pressure (42.0 percent) -- might be a problem behind a weak offensive line. Seattle’s only OL upgrade was 18th overall pick LG Grey Zabel. Another problem will be life without Justin Jefferson. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is the No. 1 target after a 2024 breakout, but he caught just 15 passes when lined up out wide, where he figures to spend more time after the Seahawks traded DK Metcalf and signed Cooper Kupp. New OC Klint Kubiak worked with Darnold in San Francisco in 2023 and figures to create a better gameplan than what Geno Smith dealt with last year, but the overall situation still looks much worse than what Darnold had in Minnesota last year. Read Past Outlooks