Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
But to Tegu's point - Darnold's issue has never been talent.
He has the arm strength and the repeatability in his mechanics to make strong, accurate throws.
What he's shown this year is an improved feel in the pocket and exponential improvement in decisionmaking.
Why wouldn't that be sustainable?
The pure talent is there to be a top tier QB. It was always about how he processed. And if the system is going to be the same next year (O'Connell isn't going anywhere) why should we believe he couldn't duplicate this season?
And if he does that, we're talking about a $60 million QB. That's why I don't understand the 'tag him' crowd -- you'll cost yourself a TON of money long-term if he's the guy he's shown this year. And as a coach/front office, if you don't think he's that guy, you don't even bother to tag him unless it's to trade him.
And in that scenario you're now taking a step back to a rookie QB as your top shelf talent around him ages just a little more in the next year or two as he's going through the same headaches that Darnold did but WITHOUT the physical ability that Darnold had.
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All true. I just don't think that you can walk into next season expecting Darnold to be this good again. He's going to regress, at least a bit. The question is whether or not they think he has a higher ceiling than McCarthy. Like you, I think he does, so they should sign him. That's going to be costly, though so it's certainly not a no-brainer.