SerpApi.Org
Being a starting quarterback in the NFL comes with pressure by default. But for Sam Darnold, there’s an added layer. Despite just winning a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks, people still have their doubts about whether he can safely be lumped in with the NFL’s elite.
Darnold turned in a career year in his first season with Seattle. He threw for 4,048 yards, fifth-most in the NFL, along with 25 touchdowns against 14 interceptions, completing a career-high 67.7% of his passes. He averaged 8.5 yards per attempt, the third-highest mark in the league, and posted a strong passer rating of 99.1.
He looked like one of the best quarterbacks in football for long stretches of the season, forming one of the league’s best tandems alongside Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who led the league with a career-high 1,793 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns on 119 catches, averaging 15.1 yards per catch.
But Darnold played with a certain level of freedom last season that he won’t get this year. Nobody had Seattle on their Super Bowl radar, and Darnold spent most of the season tucked away out of the national spotlight in the Pacific Northwest.
How he performed in the Super Bowl left a lot to be desired, too. He went 19 of 38 passing (50%) for just 202 yards and one touchdown, leaving running back Kenneth Walker to win Super Bowl MVP — an award that almost always goes to the quarterback.
2026 is Darnold’s chance to prove he truly belongs in that upper tier of NFL quarterbacks.
More news: Arizona Cardinals Player Facing the Most Pressure in 2026
More news: Los Angeles Rams Player Facing the Most Pressure in 2026
It won’t be easy for Darnold to repeat the success he had last season, though. Every defensive coordinator has now had a full offseason to study his tape, and pinpoint exactly how the Seahawks manufactured so many explosive plays.
Working against him, too, is the fact that Seattle just lost the offensive coordinator who helped make it all happen. Klint Kubiak, the most coveted coach in the 2026 hiring cycle, is now in Vegas, and first-time playcaller Brian Fleury has taken over.
On top of learning a new system, the Seahawks leading rusher just walked in free agency. Walker is now with the Chiefs, leaving Zach Charbonnet, still working his way back from a torn ACL suffered in the playoffs, and first-round rookie Jadarian Price to lead the backfield.
The receiving corps remains mostly intact, with Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Rashid Shaheed, Tory Horton, Jake Bobo, and tight end AJ Barner all back. But Darnold won’t be able to lean on the ground game quite as much this season, at least until Price adjusts to the NFL.
Darnold needs to demonstrate that his success is sustainable, not a one-time byproduct of favorable circumstances and a dominant defense.
More news: New England Patriots Player Facing the Most Pressure in 2026
Related Articles
