National Football League

Sam Darnold's 3-0 start has some considering if he's better than Baker Mayfield

Published Sep. 24, 2021 1:34 p.m. ET

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The Carolina Panthers are 3-0 – and the last time began their season at this clip, they reached the peak of the NFL mountain.

That's not to insinuate that they'll get there this season, considering there's still a tremendous amount of football left to be played. But today, the Panthers are streaking – one of seven remaining undefeated teams left standing, a number that is bound to decrease this weekend.

It's a historic, and unlikely, start to the season for a unit that many predicted would undergo a rebuilding slide as they revamped their roster – namely at the quarterback position.

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Sam Darnold has taken over as the Panthers' signal-caller this season after a rocky stint with the New York Jets.

Darnold was New York's first-round selection (third overall) in 2018, the second QB whose name came off the board after Baker Mayfield went first to Cleveland. 

Darnold inked a four-year, $30.25 million deal following the draft, but he only lasted three. He was traded to Carolina in exchange for a 2021 sixth-round pick, and a second and fourth-rounder in 2022. 

From a $20 million signing bonus to being dealt for chump change: the ultimate busts' tale.

But Darnold is already remodeling that narrative, having apparently found new life in Carolina blue. He's thrown three TDs to one interception while completing 68% of his passes (he connected on 60% with NY). He's sporting a 99.0 quarterback rating as well, up over 20 points from his 78.2 through those three seasons in The Big Apple. 

And he's on pace to blast through the 5,000-yard threshold, obliterating his career-high of 3,024 with the Jets.

After Darnold's latest win, a 24-9 road triumph over Houston on Thursday, the "Undisputed" guys took to reminiscing about the 2018 draft on Friday morning, and whether or not Darnold should've gone before Mayfield.

Shannon Sharpe says yes, based on the fact that Darnold is proving his worth now that he finally has weapons at his disposal offensively.

"This guy can play. It shows you [what happens] when you put talent around a player, when you give him competent coaching and blocking. They have pieces around him so he doesn't feel like he has to do everything. 

"Matt Rhule is a brilliant offensive mind. Baker's always had more talent around him, since Oklahoma. I've always thought Darnold was the best QB in the [2018] draft."

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Skip Bayless though, is still all-in on the No. 1 pick.

"My gut tells me that Baker will prove to be the best in this draft class," Bayless said. "Over the last 11 games of last year, he went from his Progressive commercials, which I was calling ‘regressive commercials’, to growing up right before your very eyes. Over that stretch, he had 20 TDs, three interceptions, and Pro Football Focus graded him the fourth-best QB."

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Darnold certainly has more help now than he did with the Jets, specifically on the opposite side of the ball. 

The Panthers' defense has held each of its opponents to 14 points or less. The Jets only accomplished that four times in Darnold’s 38 starts in New York. 

Offensively, Matt Rhule's efficacy has done wonders for Darnold as well, considering Weeks 2 and 3 of this season represent the first time in his career in which he's thrown for 300 yards in back-to-back games.

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Colin Cowherd followed Skip and Shannon's lead in playing the comparison game between Darnold and Mayfield, and for him, Darnold is proving that the perceived gap between the two is essentially non-existent.

"When Sam and Baker both get a good coach, both get some weapons, they're pretty good. They can win some games. And neither is good enough to overcome crap. … But I will say this for Sam Darnold: As of this morning, Baker has the third-best pass-blocking line in the league. Sam has the 31st after last night."

Mayfield has Darnold thoroughly beat in the stats department, though.

Over the course of their three years in the league together, Mayfield's tossed 11,649 yards and 76 TDs with 45 INTs, with a 62.5% completion rate. Darnold has 8,895 yards, 48 TDS and 40 INTs. He's completed 60.5% of his passes. 

Mayfield outpaces him in QB rate as well, 89.6 to 80.2

But perhaps all that Darnold needed to fully showcase his talents was a change of scenery, and now, he's got just that. 

Could the 2018 QB class debate have some new material for discussion by the end of the season?

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National Football League

Carolina Panthers

Sam Darnold

New York Jets

Baker Mayfield

Cleveland Browns

Skip Bayless

Shannon Sharpe

Skip and Shannon: Undisputed