What do Sam Darnolds athletic scores tell us about his potential?
When the Carolina Panthers traded for quarterback Sam Darnold, they believed they were trading for an untapped resource. The handling of the 2017 third overall selection was thought to be largely botched by the New York Jets, and head coach Matt Rhule sees an opportunity there. As an athlete, at least according to his Relative Athletic Score, perhaps not too much. Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb)  Darnold is, by this particular evaluation, an okay athlete. What you see highlighted in yellow, specifically in the top two categories, indicates he has decent size and speed. Those two areas are obviously of some noted importance at the quarterback position. Darnolds 6-foot-3, 221-pound frame and capable legs are what many teams look for in their quarterbacks, especially when durability and the dexterity to run are more vital than ever in todays widening offenses. While hes not particularly explosive, as shown by his poor vertical and broad jumps, the most critical subcategory of the explosion and agility marks is the one Darnold tested nicely in. His 6.96-second 3-cone drill grades him out very-much above average, which illustrates his fluidity and quickness. For quarterbacks, those two athletic traits can translate into how well they move in the pocket. Overall, Darnold is not an especially bad athlete, nor is he really a plus one. In fact hes actually not as good of an athlete as his predecessor, nor the guy Carolina couldve put under center with the eighth overall pick in the draft. Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb)  Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb)  So, considering how much the current regime values athletic testing, there must be another fancy Darnold is tickling. Whatever it is, the Panthers are in on this gamble, even if nearly every number on paper for Darnold since hitting the pros hasnt exactly been pretty. Story continues  (Hey. Speaking of pretty, wanna see something just for kicks . . . ?) Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb)  *sigh*