Comparing Sam Darnold to Andrew Luck is Ridiculous

By Djack

Somehow I stumbled across a Bleacher Report tweet comparing Sam Darnold, quarterback of USC, to Andrew Luck, former Stanford QB and #1 overall pick. As soon as I saw it I just exhaled and said classic lazy Bleacher Report throwing together some bullshit comparison. Lazy so lazy and I'll tell you why.

Basically they decided to compare Darnold to Luck for a couple reasons because if you take a look at their resumé they're quite similar. PAC-12 QB's, both have a big build, both put up big numbers, both are mobile, and both are most likely going to be #1 overall picks. Just because those things are true doesn't mean they're similar quarterbacks whatsoever, that's just a lazy analysis.

First off, Andrew Luck was the most sure thing of a franchise quarterback since Peyton Manning coming outta the draft, that's how elite he was coming out of college. Darnold definitely seems like he's going to be a franchise QB, and who knows maybe he'll have a better NFL career than Luck, but he isn't quite the sure thing Luck was coming out of Standford. Secondly, Luck has a way stronger arm than Darnold and a way shorter throwing motion. Luck has this quick release and the ball flys out of his hand, while Darnold on the other hand doesn't have nearly as quick a release and relys more on accuracy than arm strength. Lastly, Andrew Luck was a natural born leader, he commanded a pro style offense at Stanford, and he was the alpha male on that team. Sam Darnold runs a spread offense, although expect them to use a little more pro style this season, but he doesn't have that same leadership quality that Luck did. Maybe it'll come with time, however he's certainly not the alpha male on that USC team as of right now.

Darnold will be a great QB, he's better built for the NFL than Josh Rosen, the other elite QB prospect of the 2018 NFL Draft, so I believe he'll end up going #1 overall in 2018. To compare Sam Darnold to Andrew Luck just gets under my skin, though, that's just stupid. Why can't he be his own player always has to be some bullshit comparison. Well, these three things are the same, so they must be the same player, and then they'll just ignore or be oblivious to the other 100 reasons why they're different. Idiots will be idiots, just wanted to set the facts straight.