How Sam Darnold's Game Has Grown Since Joining the Seahawks

Each new season brings with it a new set of challenges and obstacles for NFL quarterbacks. What worked for them one year may not the next - and improving over the long run requires a great deal of adjustments to be successful.

The case of Sam Darnold is a clear illustration of this. During his time with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers he was surrounded by bad coaching and poor supporting casts, making it extremely difficult to show any progress.

However, once Darnold broke free and started joining capable organizations his career turned around. After a year playing backup to Brock Purdy with the 49ers Darnold signing with the Minnesota Vikings, and he finally enjoyed a breakout season, living up to the potential that made him a top-three overall pick for the first time in his career.

With the Seattle Seahawks Darnold has continued to grow his game, sometimes in ways that aren't immediately noticeable. Earlier today Pro Football Focus published a breakdown of the areas where Darnold has improved comapred to last year. The big one is avoiding sacks.

"With the Vikings, he was sacked on 21.7% of his pressured dropbacks, which ranked 25th among quarterbacks. That figure has dropped to 15.4% this season, ranking 13th league-wide and representing a meaningful step forward in managing pressure."

This has translated to a massive drop in Darnold's sack numbers. After taking a career-high 48 last season he only took 27 with Seattle this year.

Darnold has also taken a good play action game and turned it into a great one, per PFF. In fact, Darnold was more aggressive and efficient on play action than any other starter in the NFL.

"On play action this season, Darnold’s average depth of target jumped to 11.7 yards, which led the NFL. The separation was massive — the gap between Darnold and the second-ranked quarterback was the same as the gap between second and 10th."

As for the traditional numbers, Darnold's yardage and touchdown totals slipped a bit, dropping from 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns to 4,048 yards and 25 touchdowns this season.

That can probably be explained by having an inferior wide receiver corps compared to Minnesota, where they had more than just one superstar for Darnold to rely on. Despite those dips, Darnold's passer rating and QBR only suffered small dropoffs compared to last season - suggesting that his overall performance was roughly on par with 2024.

Looking ahead, Darnold could rise even higher if the Seahawks get some upgrades around him: namely right guard, center and WR2.

Dec 14, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) exits the tunnel during player introductions before a game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Lumen Field. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

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