Sam Darnold and the Denver Broncos: A Madden Simulation
By Jason Reed
As part of LA Sports Hub’s ongoing Madden Simulation series, Sam Darnold finds himself on the Denver Broncos.
Sam Darnold joins an illustrious group of USC quarterbacks to declare for the NFL Draft. From the likes of Carson Palmer to Matt Leinart, many successful USC quarterbacks have made the transition to the NFL. However, not all of them have had great NFL careers; Palmer is the one exception.
Sam Darnold looks to break the mold of USC quarterbacks in the league, potentially picking up right where Carson Palmer left off as Palmer heads into retirement.
Multiple teams look to house Darnold as he makes that pursuit towards greatness. Darnold is a part of a stacked quarterback class including Josh Rosen, Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson and Mason Rudolph. We hear it every year; this may be the next wave of great quarterbacks.
Thus, the top six or so picks are pretty hard to guess. It all comes down to which teams value which quarterbacks more. Any of these guys can go first overall to the Browns, guys like Mason Rudolph and Lamar Jackson may fall to the second round.
To figure out which fit is the best for Sam Darnold, we used Madden NFL 18 to simulate Darnold’s rookie season on each potential fit. This go around, it is the Denver Broncos.
Sam Darnold’s stats: 4,213 yards, 57% completion, 20 touchdowns, 21 interceptions
New York Jets record: 3-13
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Well, I would not consider this to be the most successful rookie campaign for Sam Darnold. Sure, the yardage is pretty high at over 4,000, but that is a common trend in Madden simulations. For whatever reason, the computer loves to throw the ball. Each one of our simulations has surpassed 4,000 yards.
I do not want to spoil anything, but this performance is significantly worse than Darnold’s performance on the New York Jets. Heck, draft mate Josh Rosen has not put together a performance this bad on any team he has been placed on.
21 interceptions are a lot; which I think is expected in a rookie quarterback. However, to have 21 interceptions and 20 touchdowns, well, that is pretty terrible. The Broncos are already in a mediocre quarterback carousel, this would not help things.
Only Joe Flacco (23) threw more interceptions than Darnold’s 21. Darnold’s 57 percent completion rate was the second worst among quarterbacks with 500 pass attempts (Jameis Winston’s 56 percent being the worst).
Sam Darnold did not finish in the top ten in AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year voting, the first time that has happened in this simulation.
Next: Sam Darnold and the New York Jets
Obviously, Madden simulations are not the most accurate source of predicting how a player performs. However, considering this simulation with other simulations, maybe the Broncos shouldn’t be the team to draft Sam Darnold.