Darnold is 'In the Lead' to be the Panthers QB1 in 2022

Giving up a 2nd, 4th, and 6th round pick for Sam Darnold and picking up his 5th-year option seemed like a bold move the Panthers had to make last offseason and now, it's a decision they are going to have to live with. At least, that's what it is beginning to look like after failing to land Deshaun Watson or any other big name quarterback this offseason.

Darnold had some, including myself, fooled early in the season when he led the team to a 3-0 record which included a win over the New Orleans Saints with Jameis Winston healthy at quarterback. For the most part, he did a good job of taking care of the ball, made the right decisions, and even made plays with his feet. At one point early in the year, he actually led the league in rushing touchdowns.

Then, Christian McCaffrey went down in Week 3 against the Houston Texans and from that moment on, Darnold was not the same quarterback. He was erratic, got happy feet in the pocket, and made some very questionable decisions when throwing the ball downfield.

A shoulder injury sidelined him for six weeks which led to the return of Cam Newton who went 0-5 in five starts. With just two games remaining in the season and having already been eliminated from the playoffs, the Panthers benched Newton in place of Darnold to continue to get one more solid look at what he could do before they entered the offseason. He had some good moments, but also had a lot of bad snaps in those final two games. The Panthers knew that adding competition to the quarterback room was a priority heading into 2022. However, after missing out on other veteran options, Darnold is in line to be the team's starter this season.

"As I sit here right now, he's on the roster. He's in the lead for that job," Panthers GM Scott Fitterer said Friday afternoon. "We want him to take it and run with it. The whole emphasis is to stabilize that quarterback position and play winning football and that's what we're working towards.

"The whole key is bringing Sam along. We threw him in last year in limited OTAs. We have to develop our own guys. P.J. Walker as well. But I think we will look to add to the group as well. That's one emphasis going into this whether its through the draft, trade, whatever it may be, we're going to add to the room."

At this point, it seems like drafting a quarterback is very much in play for the Panthers who currently hold the 6th overall pick in next month's draft. Malik Willis (Liberty) and Kenny Pickett (Pitt) have been linked to Carolina for a while now, but even more so as teams around the league have found their quarterback for 2022.

This could turn into a situation where the Panthers draft a quarterback and let him battle it out with Darnold, but if time is needed, Carolina won't be afraid to be patient knowing that Darnold is going to make $18 million this season anyway. So, what exactly does Scott Fitterer want to see Darnold improve on?

"Well, I think once Coach McAdoo gets with him...they've been talking by phone. They haven't spent time together yet in classrooms just because you're not allowed at this point. A lot of it will be speeding up the processing and getting the ball out quick. Eliminating some pre-snap reads, you can do some things that way. Just making the right decisions and growing as a quarterback. Ben has a history of developing quarterbacks whether it was in Green Bay, in New York, and we plan on him doing that with Sam."

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