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Former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck expressed how good Sam Darnold looked at the team's minicamp this spring.
It’s hard to envision quarterback Sam Darnold having a better first season with the Seattle Seahawks. But former Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck left little doubt this week that Darnold will be even better this fall.
Hasselbeck hyped the Super Bowl-winning quarterback’s minicamp performance during an appearance on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.
“I think he’s gonna be better,” Hasselbeck told the two co-hosts. “That was probably my single-biggest takeaway from practice.
“If you knew nothing else, you travel to 31 other minicamps, you watch the starting quarterback on 31 other teams – Sam Darnold is one of the 10 best on the planet right now.
“His timing, his precision, his accuracy, his anticipation, his red-zone awareness (was impressive).”
Hasselbeck attended the Seahawks minicamp practice on June 11. The was the team’s last offseason workout before summer break before training camp.
“I thought he was exceptional,” added Hasselbeck. “I thought he had complete command and control. He was aggressive. It looked like it was coming easy to him.”
GettyFormer Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck expressed how good Sam Darnold looked at the team’s minicamp this spring.
Darnold led the Seahawks to a 14-3 record and Super Bowl championship. Including the playoffs, he is now 31-7 over the past two seasons.
Yet, he still has his critics, which like to point to Darnold’s 26 interceptions over the past 34 regular season games.
Yes, Darnold still has a gunslinger mentality. But he’s grown tremendously as a quarterback since his New York Jets and Carolina Panthers days. Yet, he’s still only 29 years old.
In this era where quarterbacks in their late thirties often win MVP awards, this may only be the beginning of Darnold’s stardom.
“I think that Sam Darnold is still just a young quarterback scratching the surface of what he can be,” Hasselbeck said. “I really hate when people on the national level discredit the year that he had last year, because I think that’s obnoxious.
“At the same time, I think he can still play a heck of a lot better. And that’s what I saw in that Thursday minicamp practice.”
GettyVeteran quarterback Sam Darnold is entering his second season with the Seattle Seahawks this fall.
One area where Darnold can be a little bit better is with his consistency.
When he’s at his best, he’s not only a top 10 quarterback but maybe top 2 or 3 in the league.
Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Darnold completed 82.4% of his passes for 341 yards with four touchdowns. He also went 21 for 24 with 330 yards and four scores versus the Washington Commanders.
While facing some better defenses, though, Darnold sometimes struggled. He tossed four interceptions with no touchdowns, going 29 of 44 in the first matchup with the Los Angeles Rams.
When it mattered most, though, Darnold showed up. He had five touchdowns with zero picks in three playoff games.
If Darnold could eliminate the really bad games on his resume, the sky is the limit. He could even be an MVP candidate. That’s truly how good he is at his best.
Hasselbeck tried to remind everyone of that fact after watching the quarterback at the team’s minicamp.
Dave Holcomb is a sports reporter covering the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers and a variety of other NFL teams. Originally from Pittsburgh, Holcomb has covered college and professional sports for outlets including FanSided, Rotowire and Yardbarker. More about Dave Holcomb
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