It was one of the most beautiful hook-ups of the season — Sam Darnold throwing the absolute perfect ball to Jaxon Smith-Njigiba mid-second quarter to put the Seattle Seahawks up 10-6 over the Jacksonville Jaguars this past weekend. It may have been Darnold's best throw of his career.
Darnold used to see ghosts. Now, the fields Darnold steps on are no longer haunted. Justin Jefferson — whom many label the best wideout in football — caught 10 touchdowns and racked up 1,533 yards catching balls from Darnold with the Vikings last season. This season, Smith-Njigba is on the same track, catching balls from the very same Darnold.
Many questions entered this season on whether Darnold would be his Vikings-esque self, or revert to the Darnold we used to know. There's no question he's playing like the former, and maybe even better.
Seattle Seahawks QB1 Sam Darnold is playing himself into the MVP conversation
But in a league where the MVP —yes, we're talking MVP here — is a quarterback-driven award, is Darnold playing himself into the conversation? There aren't many QBs playing as well as him, so there may be some true relevance to the question.
Okay, to put Darnold in any MVP conversation may sound rash and, well, delusional. Looking at his career as a whole could lead to such a mindset. When you consider his overall journey and the fact that he's had more awful seasons than good ones, the awful ones tend to loom over the most recent. There are still many NFL fans out there who are waiting for Darnold to revert to his old self.
What if that doesn't happen, though? What if the Sam Darnold we are watching now is the one we should get used to? Perhaps the Seahawks' version of the 2018 New York Jets draft pick is the true version.
Consider his numbers this season: Darnold has a passer rating of 116.0, a completion percentage of 70.8, and he's throwing for 256.8 yards per game with 9.6 yards per pass. Additionally, his touchdown-to-interception ratio is 11-3, with 1,541 passing yards, which ranks him third among quarterbacks after Dak Prescott and Matthew Stafford.
Of course, Prescott and Stafford are putting together their own MVP-esque seasons, as is Baker Mayfield, who slides in behind Darnold in passing yards. No one would question, at least not very hard, that the way Prescott, Stafford, and Mayfield are playing, they deserve MVP consideration.
So, why does it seem a little off to put Darnold in the same conversation? Due to his history and the lack of trust we have in his present. It's Darnold's history that is blinding people to the fact that he is an MVP-caliber quarterback right now.
The other factor Darnold has pulling for him right now is the play of his number one receiver, Smith-Njigba. The connection between the two players is at the top of the league, and JSN's emergence this season is catapulting him into the elite wide receiver stratosphere. Darnold is heavily responsible for this, and Smith-Njigba's numbers are a testament to how well Darnold is performing.
The NFC West is likely going down to the wire with the Seahawks, Rams, and 49ers (sorry, Cardinals) all proving to be solid, competitive teams. The division may very well be up for grabs.
However, if the Seahawks were to win it, and Darnold mirrors his production from last season, or even surpasses it, wipe the mud from your eyes and come to realize that Darnold is not a Jet anymore; he's a Seahawk, and this Seahawks Darnold is unquestionably playing like an MVP quarterback.