Sam Darnold is somewhat of a forgotten man in the San Francisco 49ers' quarterback room. Brock Purdy is on track to start for the 49ers in the 2023 season, and Trey Lance was once thought to be San Francisco's quarterback of the future. While the addition of San Darnold might be going under the radar, former 49ers' quarterback Steve Young is confident in his ability.
Young called himself “a Sam Darnold fan” in speaking with Matt Maiocco for the 49ers Talk Podcast. The Hall of Famer seems to believe that Darnld could be a winning quarterback if given the chance to start for San Francisco.
“Do not sleep on Sam Darnold,” Young said. “Sam is as talented as anybody in the league in doing the things that we, you know the outward things like arm strength, mobility, and all this stuff. Again, he’s going to have to show that he has the force.”
It's certainly possible that Darnold will get a chance to play for the 49ers this year. Purdy essentially came out of nowhere to lead the 49ers to last season's NFC Championship Game. The second-year quarterback is coming off a serious injury, and it remains to be seen if he can be a quality starter over the course of a full season.
Lance is the ultimate unknown. He's barely played competitive football over the last four years. Lance is also coming off an injury and wasn't exactly lighting it up before his 2022 campaign ended prematurely.
Darnold has been a mediocre starter in his five-year career. Entering the league with a ton of promise as the No. 3 overall pick, Darnold has never completed 62% of his passes or thrown 20 touchdown passes in a season. His 92.6 passer rating for the Carolina Panthers last season was a career-high.
It stands to reason that Darnold could put up the best numbers of his career with the 49ers' weapons in Kyle Shanahan's offense.
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