Seahawks' Sam Darnold has mind-boggling catchable throw rate on deep passes

There are very few, if any, quarterbacks playing as well as Sam Darnold is right now with the Seattle Seahawks. His Week 5 performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers only solidified the notion that Darnold may be en route to another career-best season.

Darnold completed 28 of 34 passes for 341 yards, four touchdowns and one interception in the Seahawks' 38-35 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. The interception was only due to an unfortunate helmet deflection, while Darnold was nearly perfect through the air.

Now, on the season, Darnold has completed 73.1% of his passes (third) for 1,246 yards (seventh), nine touchdowns (T-8th) and three interceptions (one of 10 quarterbacks with that figure). He is also averaging a league-high 9.3 yards per attempt.

But there are plenty of other wild figures that show how well Darnold is playing, especially when you isolate his deep passes. According to Fantasy Points analyst Scott Barrett, Darnold is in a league of his own in catchable throw rate on downfield throws.

Catchable Throw Rate on Deep Targets@FantasyPtsData

1. Sam Darnold - 86.7% 🤯
2. Drake Maye - 69.2%
3. Kyler Murray - 69.2%
4. Caleb Williams - 68.8%
...
27. Geno Smith - 38.1%
Last / 28. Trevor Lawrence - 27.3%

pic.twitter.com/58lnwdmrV1
— Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) October 6, 2025

Darnold's downfield accuracy and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's consistency dialing up big plays are a big reason why Jaxon Smith-Njigba is leading the league with 10 catches of 20 or more yards and four catches of 40 or more yards.

Smith-Njigba is second in the NFL with 534 receiving yards on just 34 catches (43 targets).

The massive gap between Darnold and second-place quarterbacks Drake Maye and Kyler Murray is emblematic of how good the Seahawks' new starter has been. He is also well above former Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, who has been struggling with the Las Vegas Raiders thus far.

Seattle's defense is banged up, and Darnold's mission won't get any easier in a Week 6 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars (4-1). However, if Week 5 was any indication, he could be the reason they are competitive.

More Seahawks on SI stories