A few hours before the Jets selected Sam Darnold with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the USC quarterback sold what he believes will make him successful at the next level.
"I feel like everyone knows I'm an instinctual player," Darnold told Sporting News. "I see something that I'm just going to go with my gut and roll it. As a football player you're supposed to make a lot of tough decisions in a tiny amount of time, so I like to go with those instincts. There's a fine line between that, and I'm looking to find it."
Darnold will have to find that line while playing for a quarterback-starved franchise that hasn't made the playoffs since 2010, when Mark Sanchez, the last USC quarterback the Jets took in the first round, was behind center. How bad is the hunger? Josh McCown's 18 TDs and nine interceptions (in 13 games) from last season wouldn't be considered terrible.
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Jets fans will expect Darnold to be better than that, and it's difficult to predict which way this pick will go. Will Darnold bet the brilliant passer who threw for 31 TDs and nine interceptions while leading USC to a Rose Bowl victory against Penn State in 2016, or will he be the turnover-prone quarterback — he had 35 total in his last two seasons with the Trojans — who never really found a rhythm in 2017? Darnold was walking on both sides of that fine line in college. In the NFL, that margin for error won't be the same.
Darnold cannot commit that many turnovers at this level — especially in the New York limelight. That will be the biggest key to his development with the Jets.
This is a case where it wouldn't hurt if the Jets sat Darnold as a rookie and let him grow into the role of NFL starter. Sanchez didn't have that luxury as a rookie, and he finished with 12 TDs and 20 interceptions in 2009. Sanchez, in fact, struggled with interceptions his entire career. New York has McCown, Teddy Bridgewater and Christian Hackenberg on the roster. Darnold can win the job, but he doesn't have to. That would be the optimal course of action for coach Todd Bowles.
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"I'm going to do whatever the coaches want me to do whether that's start," Darnold said. "I'm going to start in that role. If I'm the backup, I'm going to be the best backup I can be and do that. It's all about the coaches want me to do. They get paid to their job, and I'll get paid to do mine."
The Jets — who traded up three spots with the Colts in the weeks before the draft — took the same risk with a top-10 pick at quarterback as three other franchises. The Browns took Baker Mayfield (No. 1 overall), the Bills traded up for Josh Allen (No. 7) and the Cardinals traded up for Josh Rosen (No. 10). New York's chips are the same as those other three franchises, and given Darnold was considered the top pick throughout much of the process, this isn't a gamble.
The Jets made the right pick; they had to take Darnold when he became available. This is the franchise quarterback worth taking a chance on, and he'll bring the quiet confidence New York needs.
"There's a lot of noise and a lot of people talking, but with everything going on it's real easy to continue to be myself," Darnold said.
Darnold opened NFL Draft weekend by competing in a Nacho Face-Off through a Cantina-style experience with Tostitos at AT&T Stadium with other NFL rookies, players and legends. "It's a great way to celebrate anything and watch a football game," Darnold said.
