As Sam Darnold prepares to face the team that drafted him, he's taking the blame for how things worked out with the New York Jets.
"I had a lot of opportunities in New York. I always feel like I could've played better there," the Minnesota Vikings quarterback told reporters Wednesday, per SNY TV.
The Jets selected Darnold third overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. He went 13-25 in 38 starts for New York, throwing for 8,097 yards with 45 touchdowns and 39 interceptions. He completed less than 60% of his throws with a 45.9 quarterback rating while taking 98 sacks.
Out of 33 signal-callers who played a minimum of 750 snaps from 2018-2020, Darnold ranked 33rd in EPA/play and success rate, according to Ben Baldwin's database.
Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell defended Darnold on "The Rich Eisen Show" last week, saying "organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations."
New York ultimately traded Darnold to the Carolina Panthers. He spent two years there before being Brock Purdy's backup in San Francisco last campaign.
Minnesota is reaping the rewards of signing Darnold to a one-year $10-million deal this offseason. He won NFC Offensive Player of the Month in September and is 4-0 with 932 passing yards and a league-leading 11 touchdown passes.
"I think he's doing a great job," Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams said of his former teammate, per Jared Schwartz of the New York Post.
"He's playing out of his mind right now, he's balling right now, he's doing a lot of great things. I was here with him for a couple of years. Super excited to go against him, it's gonna be a great challenge."
Jets-Vikings will kick off in London, England, at 9:30 a.m. ET on Sunday.
