Sam Darnold: Jets didn’t fail me, I had a lot of opportunities

Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold is playing like the MVP candidate the Jets hoped he would one day be when they drafted him with the third overall pick in 2018. Which has led to some people wondering whether Darnold was always a future star, who just wasn’t given a chance to sign by the bad organization that drafted him.

Darnold doesn’t see it that way. Asked whether the Jets failed him, Darnold answered, “No.”

“I had a lot of opportunities in New York and I always felt like I could have played better there,” Darnold continued.

This year Darnold is leading the NFL with 11 touchdown passes and a 118.9 passer rating and is the biggest reason the Vikings are 4-0. But in fairness to the Jets, they gave him three full seasons to develop and he never got any better. In fact, his third and final season with the Jets was his worst. He was also mediocre in his two seasons with the Panthers and in his one start last year with the 49ers. Darnold has been given plenty of chances in his NFL career. The chance the Vikings gave him could have been his last if he had failed, but instead he has made the most of it.

On Sunday in London, Darnold will face the Jets, and he may leave some Jets fans wishing their team had given him a better chance to develop. Even if Darnold says they gave him plenty of chances.