NFL Player Props: Passing yards potential in Carolina for Darnold

Sam Darnold being traded away from the Jets might save his NFL career. The Sportsbooks are expecting a good year down in Carolina but does Neil Monnery agree...?

Sam Darnold was on the field in Pasadena at the 2017 Rose Bowl in a game that I’m not sure I’ll ever get over. Penn State traveling out west to play USC in the Granddaddy of them all has not gone well for them in my lifetime as Matt Leinart and the aforementioned Darnold have had fantastic games. The former was vastly overrated and had a mediocre NFL career and the latter is in last chance saloon in Carolina.

I’ll say this for Darnold - getting out of New York is not a bad thing at all. The Jets are one of the worst run franchises around and getting an opportunity to rebuild his career in a Joe Brady offense is more than he could ever have hoped.

He also lands with a team with some actual talent in the skill positions. DJ Moore and Robby Anderson both have 1,000 receiving yard seasons as the latest entry on their resume. Christian McCaffrey is the most dynamic running back around and that pains me to write as a big Saquon guy but that is just the flat out truth of the matter.

So the situation for the former number three overall pick could not be too much better. Historically his numbers have been well below what the Sportsbooks are projecting. They have set the over/under number at 3,750 yards. Only once has he thrown for over 3,000 yards and that was only by 24. He has struggled to hold down the starting job having only started 13 games twice and 12 once.

This is one of those occasions where you have to take your perception of the player out of the betting equation. I think Darnold is a poor NFL QB and I do not expect him to turn his career around anytime soon but on the other hand - 3,750 yards on the season averages out at just 221 a game. He could flip the ball to McCaffrey five times in the season and see his RB take it all the way to the house. Joe Brady is a good offensive mind and I’m sure he’ll put together a playbook to make the most of his new QBs abilities.

I’m taking the over.

Pick: Over on the Sam Darnold passing yards market (3750.5 yards) at -112.