Jordan Palmer, who's trained Jets QB Sam Darnold since his predraft process in 2018, believes the former No. 3 overall pick is poised for a Year 3 leap.
"I've said this a bunch, Sam is one of the best young quarterbacks in this league," Palmer recently said on an appearance on ESPN's NFL Live. "He has everything. You talk to smart coaches around the league, Sam is one of those guys that they put in a different category. It's just going to be a matter of time for him.
"I feel like this offseason with the disarray and how crazy it's been, he's been so consistent every day doing the same things and just being methodical with his work, communicating with his teammates. He's heading into Year 2 with this system and with Sam, I don't think it's big, major changes. I think he has to continue to stay the course and he's done that."
Darnold told the media that he's working with Palmer this offseason to improve his deep-ball accuracy and use more power when throwing to his right as opposed to using just his arm. The soon-to-be 23-year-old's sophomore season was hampered by injury and illness while learning Adam Gase's system. Darnold, however, finished the year 7-6 as a starting signal-caller and improved almost all of his stats.
With Darnold entering his second season with Gase and with an arsenal that includes returning players like RB Le'Veon Bell, WR Jamison Crowder and TEs Chris Herndon and Ryan Griffin, Palmer expects him to take a jump that a lot of pundits thought the USC product would have made in 2019.
"Last offseason, he had an unbelievable offseason," he said. "He laid out a plan with his coaching staff and he checked every box. Then the mono thing hit, there was a new coaching staff, so with Sam, I don't think that he has to make any drastic changes to what he's doing. I think it's just going to be a matter of time until things click. People are healthy, guys know the system and he'll explode."
