The 2020 NFL season is now at its quarter pole. We’ve learned a lot through the first four weeks of the campaign. Injuries have derailed some teams. Other squads have struggled big time with play from their signal callers That includes Sam Darnold with the New York Jets.
Remaining back east, the Washington Football Team just benched Dwayne Haskins in favor of Kyle Allen. Meanwhile, Daniel Jones is leading the worst offense in the NFL. These are among the five-most disappointing players in the league heading into NFL Week 5.
Daniel Jones, quarterback, New York Giants
We knew that Jones was going to struggle when star running back Saquon Barkley was lost for the season back in Week 2 with a torn ACL. We just didn’t know how poorly the second-year signal caller would play in first year offensive coordinator Jason Garrett’s system. It’s been bad. Really bad.
The former first-round pick is completing just 61% of his passes for 889 yards with two touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s posted an abysmal 68.3 passer rating and is averaging just 6.0 yards per pass attempt. To make matters even more disturbing, Jones is leading the NFL’s dead last scoring offense at 11.8 points per game. Regression has been the name of the game in Jersey.
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Dante Fowler Jr., edge rusher, Atlanta Falcons
There’s a reason Atlanta is giving up a whopping 34.5 points per game and has seen defensive-minded head coach Dan Quinn’s seat get incredibly hot. This unit has been a disaster at all three levels after the Falcons moved on from former Pro Bowlers Vic Beasley and Desmond Trufant. One of the primary reasons for this has been the lack of a pass rush (seven sacks in four games).
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Signed to a three-year, $45 million contract back in March, Fowler has been absolutely atrocious heading into NFL Week 5. The former top-three pick of the Jaguars has recorded a mere two quarterback hits and one sack in four games. That came after Fowler tallied a career-high 11.5 sacks with the Los Angeles Rams last season. He’s looking like a major free-agent bust.
Dwayne Haskins, quarterback, Washington Football Team
Not only did this former first-round pick lose his starting job heading into Week 5, he’s now No. 3 on Washington’s depth chart behind Kyle Allen and Alex Smith. Talk about a dramatic fall from grace from a player who dominated at the college level with Ohio State.
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We’re not going to blame first-year Ron Rivera for benching the sophomore signal caller. Washington has a window to win in the horrible NFC East. Haskins has impaired that in a big way. The former first-round pick finished the quarter point of the season having thrown for less than 940 yards with just four touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s also put the ball on the turf four times. That’s just not acceptable. We’ll see how Washington’s quarterback situation plays out Week 5 against a good Los Angeles Rams defense.
Julian Edelman, wide receiver, New England Patriots
After leading the NFL in drops last season, Edelman has done very little to help whoever has been under center to replace Tom Brady. The veteran is catching what would be a career-low 60% of his targets heading into NFL Week 5. He also gifted the Kansas City Chiefs a touchdown this past Monday by virtue of another horrible drop.
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Sure Edelman is on pace for nearly 1,200 receiving yards. That’s fine and dandy. But these drop issues that were masked with Brady under center in New England have now been magnified. Simply put, Edelman needs to do a better job hanging on to the ball.
Sam Darnold, quarterback, New York Jets
This really isn’t Darnold’s fault. The Jets are relying on a coach in Adam Gase who is in way over his head. It’s still shocking that New York has not fired Gase, especially after he put Darnold back on the field minutes after the young quarterback suffered a shoulder injury last Thursday night. That’s coaching malpractice and has Darnold out for Week 5’s game against the Arizona Cardinals.
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As for the third-year signal caller, Darnold’s regression this season is alarming. Playing without any real skill-position talent, the former No. 3 pick is completing less than 60% of his passes with three touchdowns and four interceptions in four games. That’s really not going to cut it. Unfortunately, it’s hard to envision Darnold progressing while Gase is still calling the shots in Jersey.