The Seattle Seahawks may have found their quarterback of the future this offseason, signing Sam Darnold to a three-year, $100.5 million contract in free agency.
The deal followed Darnold’s breakout campaign with the Minnesota Vikings in which he threw for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 66.2 percent of his passes and registering a 102.5 passer rating. That was enough to get Darnold a Pro Bowl appearance.
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What a turnaround it was for the No. 3 overall pick, who wasted away on the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers for the first five seasons of his career and then served as a backup with the San Francisco 49ers for one year before joining the Vikings.
That being said, Darnold still has his fair share of doubters, especially after a rather rough showing in Minnesota’s Wild Card Round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
ESPN’s Seth Walder clearly does not think all that highly of Darnold and is expecting the Seahawks to have a different player under center as soon as 2027. As a matter of fact, Walder is predicting Seattle to even make it all the way to the Super Bowl that season … sans Darnold.
“Led by second-year star quarterback LaNorris Sellers, along with a top-five defense, the Seahawks will reach the Super Bowl … but will lose,” Walder wrote. “The days of [Geno] Smith and Darnold will be ancient history by 2027.”
Sellers is expected to be one of the top quarterbacks off the board in the 2026 NFL Draft. The University of South Carolina star threw for 2,534 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 65.6 percent of his passes in 2024. He also rushed for 674 yards and seven scores, so unlike the more traditional Darnold, Sellers is a serious dual threat.
Many feel that Darnold was merely a product of Justin Jefferson in Minnesota, not to mention the fact that he had weapons like Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson and Aaron Jones at his disposal last season.
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We’re about to find out if Darnold is for real in a few weeks. That being said, the USC product does have some solid playmakers available to him in Seattle, most notably in the form of wide receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp. Rookie receivers Tory Horton and Ricky White III could be sleepers, as well.
But does Darnold have enough support around him to replicate his 2024 campaign? Or is he doomed to failure in the Pacific Northwest? If it’s the latter, perhaps Sellers really will be on his way to the Seahawks sooner than we think.
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