The 2017 season hasn’t been the launchpad Sam Darnold hoped it might be as it pertains to taking that next step and becoming an NFL quarterback. As such, it’s being reported the USC quarterback is “unlikely to leave” school after this season.
https://twitter.com/AllbrightNFL/status/922510101474435072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
While stats don’t tell the whole story all the time, Darnold’s stats have been pretty awful this year, especially as it concerns turnovers. He’s only hitting 63.5 percent of his passes, averaging eight yards per attempt and has 17 touchdowns compared to 10 interceptions. He’s thrown at least one interception in every game this year minus one and has also turned the ball over five times on fumbles.
To say Darnold has taken a step backwards in terms of draft hype would be an understatement of excessive proportions.
He’s been rumored to have interest in staying in school another year, anyway. At this point, staying in school appears to be the only smart move. If he were to come out, there’s a chance teams could take a gamble with him late in the first round, but those turnovers are a killer.
The best course of action would be for the sophomore to come back one more year, polish up his game and hope it leads to a top draft spot in 2019.