NY Jets: Why Sam Darnold will live up to high expectations

NY Jets’ quarterback Sam Darnold will live up to the lofty expectations placed upon him.

The countdown is on until the NY Jets head up to Buffalo to square off with the rival Bills on September 13th and there are high expectations for a few players this year. But perhaps the guy with the highest expectations in 2020 is third-year quarterback Sam Darnold.

These expectations placed upon him by Jets fans are actually pretty well-founded. Darnold has looked strong from the start of summer camp and is coming off a season in which he led his team to a 6-2 finish and looked pretty good.

Despite having virtually no run game, no pass protection, and overall a weak receiving corps, Darnold still managed to put up decent numbers down the stretch, and more importantly, he won games.

He showed why he can truly be a great quarterback if he’s given some help.

Given that he had an almost non-existent running game, Darnold was forced into many third-and-long situations, yet he made plenty of plays on third down to extend drives late in the year.

No pass protection meant a ton of scrambling. However, this just showed off what makes him special. What he does outside of the pocket is reminiscent of someone like Aaron Rodgers.

Darnold has also had a very good camp so far. Many reports have come out of Florham Park raving about how good he looks right now. He has an improved offensive line heading into the upcoming season, but more importantly, arguably better weapons.

Sam Darnold’s improved supporting cast will allow him to thrive with the NY Jets.

Breshad Perriman has already made his presence felt in Jets camp and the connection between him and Darnold is evident. Both guys have been on the same page in practice making countless plays.

There is also the added factor of a very motivated Le’Veon Bell, who may just be in the best shape of his career, and the return of tight end Chris Herndon. So this year, Darnold will not lack weapons.

Ultimately, the reason that Jets fans have high expectations for Darnold and the reason that I think he will live up to them come in two forms.

Number one is a better team and number two is the abundance of skill and untapped potential that he brings to the table.

This year not only is the hype real, but so is Darnold.