Who is the best quarterback in the AFC East? Former NFL GM Randy Mueller weighs in
According to former NFL general manager Randy Mueller, the New York Jets potentially have the best quarterback in the AFC East in Sam Darnold. But for the 2020 season, it might be a bridge too far to expect Darnold and the Jets to take a dramatic leap forward.
In a division where Josh Allen led the Buffalo Bills to the playoffs as a Wild Card team, the future of the AFC East could well come down to Allen and Darnold in the foreseeable future. Allen took a big step forward last year, aided by a top-notch defense and a unit on offense that was efficient and built up over the past few years. This offseason, they added Stefon Diggs which makes them potentially explosive as a unit.
Darnold, on the other hand, had one of the league’s worst offensive lines and an offense that struggled to make big plays in 2019. One team was built and established, allowing Allen to come in and mature at his own rate.
The other team... was Darnold’s. The offense was a bit of a mess at time last season but should be improved this year after a big offseason by general manager Joe Douglas.
Despite all this mess around him, last year, Darnold showed signs of progress and maturation, especially as the season wore on. After missing three of the first four games due to mononucleosis, Darnold endured a difficult first half of the season. But he came on strong in the second half of the season.
He had 13 touchdowns and four interceptions over the season’s final eight games. It was a dramatic turnaround from his first five games played in 2019 when he had six touchdowns and nine interceptions (he missed Week 2 through Week 4 with the mono diagnosis).
Mueller sees a lot of positives in Darnold, who was taken four picks before Allen in the 2018 NFL Draft.
“He came from an offense at USC, believe it or not, that was very elementary and simple,” Mueller said of Darnold.
“Everything has been new to him and a learning experience since arriving in New York. He is still a work in progress with processing, decision making, etc. He spent last year learning a new offense which is much different than developing your ‘trade.’ I’d look for him to get to more second level quarterbacking this year.”
Mueller has had a fascinating life in football, a career that spans time in player personnel with the Seattle Seahawks and then two years with the New Orleans Saints as their general manager followed by three seasons as general manager of the Miami Dolphins. Recently, he has a decade with the Los Angeles Chargers as senior executive of football operations.
He has good things to say about Darnold and his progression. But the issue is that Mueller thinks right now, Darnold is a bit behind Allen. Buffalo is a playoff-ready team as evidenced by last season and one that enters the season as the favorites to win the AFC East.
The Bills have been slowly building a core in recent years and is much further along in terms of their roster than the still rebuilding Jets.
“In my opinion, he's a year behind Josh Allen on the learning and developing curve. A quarterback with his lack of NFL offense familiarity will take some time,” Mueller said.
“He might have more upside than any of the young guns in his division though so that’s the exciting part- just gonna take some time.”
