6 years agoTo understand the excitement building around the development of second-year quarterback Sam Darnold under the tutelage of new head coach Adam Gase, look no further than new Jets wide-receiver coach Shawn Jefferson, who recently used four curses in two sentences to describe the throwing abilities of the former USC signal-caller. The PG translation? Sam Darnold has a cannon and is really, really accurate. After taking him third overall in last year’s draft, the Jets, and their fans are expecting more in Darnold’s sophomore campaign after last year’s lackluster rookie offering. His first pass of the season was a pick-six and from there the season didn’t go that much better. Through the first 9 games of the season, Darnold had just 11 touchdowns, with 11 interceptions to match. Darnold then missed Weeks 10 – 12 with an ankle injury but came back to finish strong in the last four games of the season, throwing six touchdowns to only one interception. Additionally, he completed 64% of his passes, which was a significant improvement over the 55% rate that he had posted prior to the injury. Besides now being under the care of Gase, a supposed offensive guru, Darnold is also surrounded with better weapons. The Jets brought in Jamison Crowder and Ty Montgomery, to join a healthy Quincy Enunwa and emerging tight end Chris Herndon. Oh, and they also added all-world running back, Le’Veon Bell. With new and improved weapons, in a new and improved system, Darnold is poised to make a large leap forward in his second year. With an NFBC ADP of #128 overall, as the 25th QB being taken, Darnold arguably has the upside of a QB1, but with the price-tag of Andy Dalton.--Nicklaus Gaut - RotoBaller