Jets’ Sam Darnold Explains Why It’s Easier To Read Defenses In NFL

Sam Darnold had his coming out party Friday night when he dazzled during the New York Jets’ preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons.
The third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft went 13-for-18 for 96 yards and a touchdown in the Jets’ 17-0 win.
Darnold is competing for the starting job along with Teddy Bridgewater and veteran Josh McCown.
Darnold looked comfortable in his NFL debut, showing why the Jets coveted him at the top of the draft.
While there normally is a learning curve for rookie quarterbacks, Darnold believes it’s easier to read NFL defense than those he saw in college.
“The hashes are so much closer than college, so I feel like I can see the field a little bit clearer in a weird way,” Darnold said, via NJ.com.
“It’s really nice to be able to get that width and be able to see exactly what the coverage is.
You can tell right away most of the time whether it’s man or zone, which is really cool.” One New York newspaper already has deemed Darnold the franchise’s “Jet-Siah,” so the excitement level for the young quarterback is quite high in The Big Apple.
But the speed in preseason games is noticeably slower than regular season games, so we’ll see how Darnold feels about NFL defenses after his first career start.
Thumbnail photo via Vincent Carchietta/USA TODAY Sports Images