In the run-up to the Seattle Seahawks' Week 13 game against the Minnesota Vikings, reports began circulating about a phone call made by Vikings' head coach Kevin O’Connell to Seahawks’ GM John Schneider after Seattle signed Sam Darnold.
O’Connell, who coached Darnold during a very successful 2024 season, assured Schneider that Darnold is “one of the best leaders you’ll ever be around.”
Seahawks fans are coming to realize that as the 2025 season heads into the playoffs. Coming off the 26-0 shutout of one of last year’s wild card teams, Seattle sits at 9-3, tied for the best record in the NFC with Chicago and Los Angeles.
Seattle Seahawks' Sam Darnold has taken a winding road toward the top of the NFL
Sam Darnold was once seen as just another first-round bust, is now 23-6 over the last two seasons. He has been helped this year by one of the best defenses in football, a group of solid playmakers on offense, and solid special teams play. Schneider has done an excellent job of blending young talent with veteran leadership.
Sam Darnold checks both of those boxes.
Darnold entered the league in 2018 when the New York Jets made him the third overall selection in the draft and immediately tagged him as their franchise QB. Neither the team nor the player was ready for success.
Darnold, who has spoken often about his relatively quiet nature, tried to be an outspoken leader. It didn’t work. His time in New York came to an unceremonious end after three seasons.
But he was lucky. As he moved from club to club seeking a fresh start, the former USC star had the good fortune of playing alongside quality leaders like Teddy Bridgewater, Baker Mayfield and Brock Purdy.
He was also able to hone his craft under some of the best offensive minds in the league. Coaches like Kyle Shanahan, Kevin O’Connell, and Klint Kubiak have found ways to unlock the athletic gifts that made him such a high draft pick to begin with.
Darnold can make every throw in the book. He has always displayed great courage and patience, willing to take a hit in the pocket to deliver one of his signature deep throws. This season in Seattle, he has formed a lethal alliance with Jaxon Smith-Njigba. JSN was not known as a deep threat in his first two seasons. Now there is no one better in the entire NFL.
JSN identified Darnold’s leadership style early on. Before the season began, the Seahawks’ star receiver noted that Darnold combined a very calm inherent nature with some real “juice.” As the wins and yards have piled up, JSN and virtually everyone else on the Seahawks have repeated those observations.
Darnold, for his part, is quick to praise his record-breaking receiver, his elite defense, and everyone else associated with this year’s Seahawks.
His ability to stay cool under pressure has been tested lately. Last Sunday, he hung in against Minnesota’s fearsome pass rush. Despite taking four sacks, he did not turn the ball over, which had been an issue of late. Darnold, like his coaches, recognized that Minnesota’s offense simply could not score on the Hawks’ defense, and there was no reason to take chances.
His stats didn’t look very good for the game, but his team won. That is the one thing that continues to show up with regard to Darnold. Check out the three games he played after Seattle’s losses this season. In those games – two of which were on the road against Pittsburgh and Jacksonville – Darnold posted a quarterback rating of 109.9.
That is up from his already-impressive season mark of 103.1, good for seventh in the league.
The real test for Darnold will come in the postseason. He has already erased the early perception that he cannot function at a very high level in the NFL. But he played poorly last season in two key late games, including his one and only playoff game until now. Doubts will remain until he proves them wrong.
Fortunately, as Kevin O’Connell, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and the rest of the league know, Sam Darnold tends to meet challenges head-on and get better. That is one of the hallmarks of a leader.