Kay Adams drops surprising Sam Darnold stat to challenge narrative on $100,500,000 QB’s fit in Seattle

Contrary to popular belief, one NFL analyst believes signing Sam Darnold is a good move for the Seattle Seahawks.

Although the Seahawks gave up 54 quarterback sacks in 2024, 50 to former QB Geno Smith, Kay Adams revealed an eye-catching stat about the former third-overall pick with the New York Jets.

"Sam (Darnold) actually had the fourth-highest passer rating in the NFL when facing pressure last season," Adams said.

Indeed, according to Next Gen Stats, Darnold had an 89.6 rating against pressure. The only three quarterbacks with a better mark than that in 2024 were Aaron Rodgers (95.4), Joe Burrow (96.3), and Lamar Jackson (96.4).

"I like it I think he’s gonna have a good little situation there in Seattle," she added.

Darnold agreed to a three-year contract with the Seahawks on March 10 worth $100.5 million after helping the Minnesota Vikings make the playoffs in 2024. After what he did a season ago, Adams believes the former Jets quarterback deserved to get a salary bump.

"He definitely earned it after what he did in Minnesota last year, not a bad deal for Seattle. He gets to slot in as the 18th highest-paid quarterback in the league right now."

While Sam Darnold made the Pro Bowl in 2024 for the first time in his NFL career, many questioned this move for Seattle given how the USC product ended the season. Darnold completed just 43.9% of his passes in the Vikings’ regular season finale against the Detroit Lions with a passer rating of 55.5.

His first playoff outing wasn’t all that memorable either, as he was sacked nine times by the Los Angeles Rams and tossed an interception in a lopsided 27-9 loss.

Sam Darnold’s numbers compared to Geno Smith

While some may be concerned about Sam Darnold’s fit in Seattle, the numbers indicate he was on par with the man he’s replacing in numerous areas and in some instances better. Geno Smith threw for 4,320 yards last season with the Seahawks, one yard more than Darnold had in Minnesota.

Darnold averaged 7.9 yards per pass last season, with Smith coming in at 7.5. Smith’s completion percentage was 70.4, and Darnold’s was 66.2.

Smith was reportedly traded to the Las Vegas Raiders last week, though it's yet to be made official, reuniting him with head coach Pete Carroll.

One area that Darnold was much better in though was finding the end zone, tossing 35 touchdown passes in 2024, with Smith only throwing for 21. Last season, Sam Darnold had a career-high 102.9 passer rating.