🚨 BREAKING NEWS: Sam Darnold Ranked No. 20 in Latest NFL QB Rankings – What Does This Mean for Seattle’s Future?

After a career-reviving season in Minnesota, Sam Darnold has climbed the greatest number of spots in an annual ranking of the league’s best quarterbacks. Yet, his overall rank reflects the crucial questions looming over his first season in Seattle.

The Athletic’s Mike Sando polled 50 NFL coaches and executives to compile the list, which was released on Aug. 11. Quarterbacks are not only ranked from best to worst but sorted into five tiers. Tier 1 is filled with (mostly) the usual suspects: Mahomes, Burrow, Allen, and Jackson. Seahawks fans might be skeptical of divisional foe Matthew Stafford sneaking in as the last Tier 1 QB, though.

Despite leaping a league-high nine spots, Darnold lands in Tier 3. Sando describes the quarterbacks in this tier as “a legitimate starter but needs a heavier running game and/or defensive component to win.” He adds, “A lower-volume dropback passing offense suits him best.”

Darnold ranks as the No. 20 overall QB, tied with second-year player Bo Nix. In one respect, 20th feels low for a quarterback who threw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns on a 14-3 Vikings team. However, the placement makes more sense considering Darnold’s disappointing-to-disastrous end to 2024; the former first-round pick took an NFL-record nine sacks in a 27-9 playoff loss to the Rams.

Did the Seahawks Upgrade at QB?

One of the poll’s many compelling details is the juxtaposition of current and former Seahawks quarterbacks. Darnold is ranked one spot lower than Geno Smith, who departed Seattle this offseason. Sando asked coaches and front office personnel to compare the two signal callers, posing the question: “Did [the Seahawks] upgrade?”

“I think Geno operates at a higher level, especially in critical moments,” one anonymous offensive coach said. “Sam’s two-minute stuff versus Geno’s two-minute stuff, that is where Geno separates himself.”

Another source took Darnold in the debate. “Sam, when you put the pieces around him, has a higher ceiling,” they said. “This is wild to say, but Geno is maybe better if your team is bad. Sam is better if your team is good.

“Geno can look great, and you can win a game you should not win, but you are also going to lose two or three against teams that are the same as you because he throws a pick in the end zone, plays blind, doesn’t see it,” the source added. “Sam, when the team is bad, you are going to feel like, f—, this guy is limited, and we cannot overcome it. But when your team is good, you are going to operate really well.”

As Sando points out, Darnold’s late-season struggles stuck with voters. One said, “I like Darnold, but the end of the season killed me.”

How Darnold Compares to Other QBs

The other quarterbacks in Tier 3 vary widely in perception. They range from up-and-coming prospects to perennial question marks to players presumed to be over the hill. Notable names in Darnold’s vicinity include Aaron Rodgers (No. 16), Trevor Lawrence (No. 18), Caleb Williams (No. 23), and Kirk Cousins (No. 25).

Tier 3 is something of a Rorschach test for NFL fans. You can squint and envision the quarterbacks in this tier as capable of winning a Super Bowl if everything breaks right. Stare too long and Tier 3 starts looking like no-man’s land for many franchises.

Of course, for Seahawks fans, Darnold is a Rorschach test himself. The optimistic view is that Seattle signed Darnold, recently named to the NFL’s Top 100 Players List, to a comparatively reasonable deal of $33.5 million per year. Paired with some talented skill players and OC Klint Kubiak’s run-first, play-action scheme, Darnold could replicate the success he found last season and lead the Hawks to a playoff berth in 2025. According to The Athletic’s tier list, however, “there is no consensus yet that Seattle has found a long-term successor to Smith.”