Analyst paints gloomy image of Seahawks changing Smith with Darnold
Shortly after it was discovered that the Seattle Seahawks deliberate to commerce quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders, it was reported that the Seahawks agreed to a three-year, $100.5M contract with former Minnesota Vikings starter Sam Darnold.
For a chunk revealed Wednesday, ESPN NFL analyst Ben Solak shared why he believes Seattle will remorse making such a monetary dedication to Darnold this offseason.
“Seattle’s offensive line was one of many worst within the league final season, as Smith was pressured inside 2.5 seconds on 18.8% of his dropbacks, the fourth-highest price in accordance with NFL Subsequent Gen Stats,” Solak defined. “And the pass-catching group of DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba does not maintain a candle to that of (Minnesota’s) Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson. Darnold will not even get that very same trio Smith had; Metcalf is a Steeler now, and Lockett has been launched.”
ESPN’s Brady Henderson reported on Wednesday that the Seahawks had agreed to a one-year contract with free-agent extensive receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Few, if any league executives, would think about going from Metcalf to Valdes-Scantling a optimistic for any membership.
ESPN’s Seth Walder warned earlier than the authorized tampering portion of free company started on Monday that sure stats confirmed Darnold wasn’t elite through the 2024 common season though he completed Week 18 ranked fifth within the league with 35 passing touchdowns and fifth with 4,319 passing yards. Per Professional Soccer Reference, Darnold was fifteenth amongst certified gamers with a 60.4 adjusted QBR, fifteenth with a 47.7 % passing success price and seventeenth with a 66.2 % completion share.
“The Vikings’ protection (fourth by success price and second by anticipated factors added per play within the common season) repeatedly gave Darnold higher discipline place and rating differentials than Seattle’s gave Smith, which makes passing simpler,” Solak continued. “Darnold performed in a play-action-heavy offense underneath (Vikings head coach) Kevin O’Connell, which makes passing simpler than the straight dropback offense Smith was compelled to captain underneath offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb (who has since been fired).”
For what it is price, Darnold can be taking part in underneath just lately employed offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak with the Seahawks. Kubiak’s offense is comparable to O’Connell’s, and Kubiak was the San Francisco 49ers passing sport coordinator when Darnold was San Francisco’s backup through the 2023 season.
