The Seattle Seahawks made somewhat of a shocking decision this offseason as they opted to move on from Geno Smith, sending him to the Las Vegas Raiders for a third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Several days later, they signed Sam Darnold to a three-year, $100.5 million contract with $55 million in guarantees.
There was some criticism surrounding the decision, with many pundits suggesting that the 2024 Pro Bowler was a product of the talent around him during his lone season with the Minnesota Vikings. Darnold has done a great job of silencing his critics over the Seahawks' first four games of the season.
After losing their season opener, Seattle has bounced back to win three consecutive games -- with two coming as blowouts and the third being a road divisional matchup. The third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft recently received praise for his performance to start the year.
Sam Darnold praised after strong start to Seattle Seahawks career
Darnold has proved his naysayers wrong to begin the 2025 season as he has shown that his success last season is sustainable. Pro Football Focus's (subscription required) Dalton Wasserman praised the Seahawks quarterback:
"To be the highest-graded quarterback in football is an accomplishment. I see him being more decisive. He has the second-lowest average time to throw at 2.55 seconds -- only behind Matthew Stafford. That number was closer to 3.1 seconds for him last year. So, he's getting rid of the football quickly, he's decisive and I think the biggest part of his game that's impressing me right now is he's dominating over the middle of the field. Between the numbers, he is the highest-graded passer in football. He's completing 88% of his passes -- leads the NFL -- and 11.1 yards per attempt. Sam Darnold has been attacking the middle of the field with such precision that it's giving all of their opposing defenses big problems."
Sam Darnold is the highest-graded QB in football this season 🎯 pic.twitter.com/ZsYYmTFalZ
— PFF (@PFF) September 27, 2025
Darnold has posted a very impressive 91.1 PFF grade through his first four games in a Seahawks uniform -- leading all quarterbacks. He has thrown for 905 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions while completing 70.0% of his pass attempts. While he has only carried the ball three times for 38 yards, two of those carries resulted in first downs.
If Seattle's new quarterback continues to take care of the ball, the team could be in line to reach the postseason for the first time since 2022. The Seahawks have been elite on both sides of the ball, ranking in the top five of both scoring offense and defense. While Darnold's stats may not jump off the screen, he has been very impressive to begin the season.