Sam Darnold has one more game left to play this regular season, but he has already made it his career year with the Vikings. After scoring 35 passing touchdowns, he has not only etched his name as an elite QB in the league but also broken a few franchise records. However, Sam has yet to convince Shannon Sharpe of his elite status.
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The former tight end believes that it’s only because of the elite skill-level players around him that Sam has been able to elevate his play—be it Justin Jefferson or Aaron Jones. Without them, Sharpe argued, Sam would not be the player he is today.
“He’s got guys that he can throw the ball to but it just goes to show you, ‘I don’t care without talent around you,'” Shannon said on the latest episode of Nightcap.
For Shannon, elite-level quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady can elevate the skill of the players around them, but a player like Darnold cannot thrive in a helpless environment. This is why he barely left a mark in either New York or Carolina.
“Now you got some guys like Mahomes, or guys like Brady, they could elevate you,” Unc said. “A great quarterback like Mahomes can elevate those guys to play when you’re not that level of player. You want guys to elevate your play and that’s what the great skill-position players around you are able to do.”
Shannon then labeled Baker Mayfield in the same category as Sam Darnold. He claimed that the Buccaneers quarterback has been better in Tampa Bay than he was in Cleveland since he has the support of an exceptional receiving corps, especially Mike Evans.
Co-host Chad Johnson, too, shared his two cents, explaining that this is how he ranks tier-1 and tier-2 quarterbacks. Clearly, Darnold wasn’t in his tier one. For Shannon, there are only four tier-1 QBs in the league right now: Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow.
Despite Sam not being labeled a tier-1 QB, there is no denying that he has had a turning point with the Vikings this season. His 35 passing touchdowns are the third most by any Vikings QB in a single season.
The 14-2 Vikings are already on their way to the playoffs and are set to face the Lions in the season finale. It remains to be seen how much success Darnold finds in the postseason against the “elite QBs,” as Shannon Sharpe labeled them.
