Sam Darnold has a far better supporting cast in Carolina than he did during his time with the Jets. The 24-year old Panthers quarterback will still have to improve a lot to keep his job, though.
One element of the game that Darnold struggled with last season was throwing outside of the pocket. According to Doug Farrar at Touchdown Wire, he was the NFL’s worst QB in those situations.
“Darnold’s combination of inconsistent mechanics and a relative inability to re-calibrate what he sees when on the move led him to have the NFL’s lowest passer rating (52.8) on throws outside the pocket — he completed 29 of 53 passes for 298 yards, 200 air yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. That’s now the Panthers’ problem to deal with.”
Darnold’s 2020 tape with the Jets is a brutal watch on many levels – we certainly don’t recommend it. If you have the stomach, you can fire up Gamepass and watch Darnold’s first drive of the year against the Bills and you’ll see those issues leap out right away.
Throwing outside of the pocket with any consistent accuracy is always a hard ask. However, there are other areas that Darnold can and should improve on with a better coaching staff. Avoiding turnovers (Darnold has 39 picks and 20 fumbles in his career) by making better decisions would be a good place to start.
