For most of his career, the narrative around Sam Darnold is that he wasn't a winner. From claiming that he was seeing ghosts against the New England Patriots' defense to bouncing around the league as a backup, he looked like one of the biggest busts of his generation.
Then, with the proper guidance, some notorious mental fortitude, and hard work, Darnold did much more than climb his way back to a starting spot. He was instrumental in leading one of the best offenses in football to the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Nevertheless, it seems like not even winning a Super Bowl might be enough for him to finally get his flowers. In FanSided's NFL Spin Zone's latest quarterback power rankings, Lou Scataglia has him sitting at No. 13, even behind players like Trevor Lawrence and Bo Nix.
Seattle Seahawks star Sam Darnold deserves more respect
"Clearly not an elite quarterback, and not a quarterback that anyone would mistake as elite, Darnold's stance in our power rankings is an interesting one," Scataglia wrote. "He's not close to being in that elite tier with the best passers in the league, but he's clearly better than the 'average' players at the position."
Darnold is essentially being a victim of his previous reputation, but that's just a lazy narrative. He was elite in his lone season with the Minnesota Vikings, and he was remarkable last year with the Seahawks, outside of a couple of games.
Even when the Seahawks were just one win away from the ultimate glory, the narrative revolved around whether Darnold could keep the foot on the gas or if he'd collapse under pressure again. Clearly, he still hasn't silenced the critics.
All in all, Darnold completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 14 picks in the regular season. Turnovers were admittedly a concern, though most of them happened during a stretch midway through the season; he took much better care of the ball down the stretch.
Darnold then elevated his game in the postseason, totaling 672 passing yards with a 102.4 passer rating and logging 5 touchdown passes against no interceptions. He made big throw after big throw, kept the chains in motion, and took care of business when it mattered most.
Perhaps having Kenneth Walker III be Super Bowl MVP didn't do much to help his case in the eyes of those who didn't follow him throughout the course of the season. Whatever the case, it's hard to make an actual case for him not being, at the very worst, a top-10 quarterback.
The Seahawks were a finely-tuned machine in all three facets of the game, and he landed in a perfect situation. That said, this team may not have gone the distance and won the Super Bowl last season without Darnold.
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