Why the 49ers Better Not Trade for Sam Darnold
I now present the most terrifying 49ers news of the week.
According to The Athletic's Michael Lombardi, the 49ers are interested in trading for New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold.
"Would they have an interest in Jets quarterback Sam Darnold?" Lombardi wrote. "Yes, for sure. Why? Because Darnold fits the profile that Shanahan loves at the position: athletic, can throw moving to his left or right, and has the arm strength to make the defense defend every blade of grass on the field."
It's unclear if Lombardi is speculating or has inside information.
Lombardi is a former NFL front office executive who worked for the Raiders and Patriots, and he's friends with my dad. I grew up playing little league baseball with his sons. So, all due respect to Lombardi.
But he's wrong. Or he better be.
Darnold would be a major downgrade from Jimmy Garoppolo, because Darnold is freaking horrendous.
Lombardi is correct that Darnold fits the physical profile Shanahan wants in a quarterback, but doesn't take into account the mental profile, i.e. football IQ. And football IQ is the main reason the 49ers want to get rid of Jimmy Garoppolo. He looks good throwing a football when he's healthy, but he doesn't know where to go with the ball most of the time and he makes bad decisions.
Darnold is worse. He makes Garoppolo look like a football genius.
When you watch the coach's tape of Darnold, the tape that shows all 22 players in the frame, you can see he misses open receivers almost every play. Misses them as in doesn't see them. He rarely knows where to go with the ball -- you can count on one hand the amount of time he executes plays correctly in a game. That's a big reason he already has gotten two head coaches fired -- Todd Bowles and Adam Gase.
Darnold has zero feel for playing quarterback and he's a turnover machine. Plus he misses games for bizarre reasons -- mono, strep, enlarged spleen, missing toe nail etc. He's a project the 49ers don't need.
They already have a project quarterback from the 2018 draft. His name is Josh Rosen. The 49ers should develop him and let the Jets worry about Darnold.
I'm guessing Shanahan feels the same way. He can watch the coach's tape. And he knows what he's watching.
