Riggo's Rag
FanSided

2018 NFL Draft: Top 10 quarterback Big Board for the Redskins

By Jacob Camenker

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Oklahoma Sooners throws a pass during the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal Game against the Georgia Bulldogs at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Oklahoma Sooners throws a pass during the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal Game against the Georgia Bulldogs at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
9 of 11
Next
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 07: Quarterback Sam Darnold #14 of the USC Trojans warms up before the game against the Oregon State Beavers at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 7, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 07: Quarterback Sam Darnold #14 of the USC Trojans warms up before the game against the Oregon State Beavers at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 7, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

After Sam Darnold‘s first season at USC, expectations were sky-high for him. He was one of the nation’s best players during his redshirt freshman campaign, and it was expected that he would improve as a sophomore. That didn’t end up being the case.

Overall, Darnold regressed as he lost some of his key contributors, many linemen and JuJu Smith-Schuster, to the NFL. His accuracy wasn’t as good and notably, he struggled to make decisions and didn’t look comfortable in the pocket. That could be attributed to the changes he dealt with, but at the same time, he should have been better than he was.

Darnold struggled with turnovers and awareness in the pocket, which will be a major problem if those issues continue into the NFL. If there’s one thing that NFL coaches hate, it’s turnovers. So, Darnold has to work on those if he wants to find success for as a starter.

NFL Draft: Redskins schedule a pre-draft meeting with Da'Ron Payne

Darnold is probably going to be one of the first two quarterbacks off the board. I’m just skeptical of taking him as the top quarterback because of the turnover issues he had in his final season. There’s no doubting that he is one of the most talented players in the draft, as he has a strong, accurate arm and good size. But, confidence can’t be taught, and that’s a big area of improvement for Darnold as he transitions to the NFL.

Make no mistake: Darnold is a top 10 talent. He just is behind a couple of the other top quarterbacks in this class. But it’s not out of the question for Darnold to be the best quarterback in this draft class.

Home/Commanders News