Sam Darnold Enters The 2018 NFL Draft

Minutes after fellow top quarterback prospect Josh Rosen announced his intentions to leave for the NFL, USC signal caller Sam Darnold has revealed that he will also declare for the 2018 NFL Draft in a video posted on his Instagram page.

Sam Darnold (Featured)

Always thought of as one of the consensus top two quarterbacks in this draft class, there seemed to at least some hesitation from around the league whether the redshirt sophomore quarterback would decide to go pro after this season. While Darnold has tremendous arm talent, there was some clear holes that were exposed in his game this season, especially in his tendency to turn the ball over. The USC Trojan threw 13 interceptions in 2017, four more than in the previous season. He also was coming off a poor last effort against a talented Ohio State defense in the Cotton Bowl.

Nevertheless, Darnold is betting on himself and is set to be a top pick in about three months time. Even after a rough season, the redshirt sophomore still has great raw ability and was posting better numbers as the 2017 season wore on. Also, with the number of teams needing quarterbacks to build around, Darnold will almost assuredly be taken in the top ten picks with there being a great chance that he goes even higher than that, possibly number one to the Browns.

Cleveland has passed on taking quarterbacks in the first round in the last two drafts, but still look to be in a prime decision to take either Darnold or Rosen this April. While Rosen has been a little more unsure of the idea of going to the Browns, Darnold has stated publicly that it would “be so special” to be taken number one overall, according to Doug Lesmirises of Cleveland.com.

However, there should be no jumping to conclusions as many things could change in the months ahead regarding who will be the first quarterback selected. The important thing is that we now know teams will have a chance to draft Darnold in just a few months.

 

 

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