With the NFL offseason in full swing, one of the most popular conversations has been about the Pittsburgh Steelers and the quarterback situation. Names like Russell Wilson and Justin Fields have dominated the conversation. However, one name got mentioned today that I haven’t heard much at all: San Francisco 49ers QB Sam Darnold.
On Monday’s episode of Up On Game on Fox Sports Radio, former NFL WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh and former Steelers WR Plaxico Burress were joined by former NFL LB Lavar Arrington. Most of the time was spent on varying opinions on Wilson’s fit, but Burress brought up Darnold as a quality option.
“You know what makes the most sense for me?” Burress said. “When I say this to people, they kind of look at me and they like ‘Well, he’s not the most desirable of guy,’ but he fits. It’s Sam Darnold. I think he fits what Pittsburgh wants to do right now. Listen, he’s not young Ben Roethlisberger. He’s not a bad quarterback.”
At first glance, the phrase “He’s not a bad quarterback” and Sam Darnold might not fit together. He was the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by the New York Jets after a successful college career at USC. However, he never established himself as a quality quarterback in his first three seasons with the Jets. He was traded to the Carolina Panthers after the 2020 season and finished his Jets career with a 59.8 completion percentage, 45 touchdowns, 39 interceptions, and 8,097 passing yards. It wasn’t much better in Carolina where he finished his two seasons with 16 touchdowns to 16 interceptions, 3,670 passing yards, and a 59.5 completion percentage.
Despite Darnold’s struggles, he has thrown for more touchdowns (63) than interceptions in his career (56,) but his career completion percentage is below 60 (59.7)
So what makes Burress think Darnold could succeed in Pittsburgh? The Steelers’ focus on the running game and their weapons on offense. After all, if you look at whom Darnold has thrown touchdowns to, it’s not exactly a list of the best receivers in the game. The most touchdowns he’s thrown to one receiver is 14, and that was to Robbie Chosen (formerly Anderson). Then Jamison Crowder at 10, DJ Moore with seven, Chris Herndon with six, and Ryan Griffin at five.
How many of them are better than the three primary options in Pittsburgh of WRs George Pickens and Diontae Johnson along with TE Pat Freiermuth? The only one who you could make any sort of a quality argument for is Moore, who has surpassed 1,100 receiving yards in four of his six NFL seasons and caught a career-high eight touchdowns last season with the Bears.
One thing is for sure about what Burress said: Darnold, or whatever quarterback the Steelers bring in, won’t have to be the star of the show. The Steelers will commit to the running game under new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who will build a strong play-action passing attack off that run game. Perhaps a year under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco can help Darnold reset after the expectations (and lack of quality coaching) he faced through his five seasons in the NFL.
You can listen to the entire conversation about the Steelers’ quarterback situation below:
