Sam Darnold had an impressive campaign last season with the Seattle Seahawks. However, despite winning the Super Bowl, it looks like he still has a long way to go before he’s considered one of the best at his position.
According to a recent ESPN survey, coaches, executives and scouts do not consider Darnold a top-10 quarterback in the league. On Monday’s episode of “The Herd,” analyst Colin Cowherd questioned Darnold’s snub.
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He also highlighted that the quarterback remained consistent in his performance despite playing for different teams over the past few seasons.
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“Where’s Sam Darnold?” Cowherd said. “Even the GMs in this league don’t know what the hell to do with Sam Darnold. Back-to-back 14-win seasons. Totally different players, offensive linemen, coordinators and coaches. Back-to-back 14 wins and a Super Bowl. Since 2022, he has the highest win percentage of any quarterback in the league, more than Mahomes, Lamar Jackson.
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“He’s 32 and nine. Four coaches, four coordinators, four teams, four rosters, four owners. … Almost a 100 passer rating.”
Cowherd compared Darnold to Bengals star Joe Burrow when he totaled 22 wins during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He also led the team to an appearance in Super Bowl LVI, where they lost to the Rams.
“People love Joe Burrow, and they should,” Cowherd said. “Joe Burrow’s amazing. He’s number four on the list. Darnold’s not on it. People love Burrow. And the reason they love Burrow the most is he had a two-year period where he won 22 games and got to a Super Bowl. Darnold’s got a two-year period where he’s won 28 games and won a Super Bowl, and he’s not on the list.”
The Jets drafted Sam Darnold with the No. 3 pick in 2018. After three seasons, he was traded to the Panthers in 2021. He also spent one season each with the 49ers (2023) and the Vikings (2024).
During the 2024 season, he was the Vikings’ QB1 after J.J. McCarthy suffered an injury before the start of his rookie campaign. Despite leading the team to the wild-card round of the playoffs, they did not give Darnold an extension.
Thus, the Seahawks signed Darnold to a three-year, $100.5 million deal in March 2025. As the team’s QB1 last season, Darnold led them to a 29-13 victory over the Patriots to win Super Bowl LX.
Dan Orlovsky joins Colin Cowherd to question Sam Darnold’s snub as a top-10 quarterback in the NFL
Colin Cowherd is not the only person who believes Sam Darnold deserves recognition as a top quarterback in the league.
After ESPN published the article on Monday, analyst Dan Orlovsky also joined the discussion. He shared Cowherd’s sentiment, highlighting how Darnold should be a top-10 quarterback.
“Not having Darnold is the miss,” Orlovsky said. Other than that, good on the list and once again will reiterate: Once you get past the top 7 or so, annually, the next 7-8 guys are for the most part interchangeable depending on their surroundings.”
Darnold will kick off Year 2 with the Seahawks with a season-opener at home against the Patriots on Sept. 9.
Edited by Priyam Hazarika