Sam Darnold looks comfortable playing QB: Observations from Panthers training camp
.JPG "Carolina Panthers quarterbacks Baker Mayfield, left, Sam Darnold, center and Matt Corral, right, wait along a sideline to resume drills on Wednesday, July 27, 2022 at Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC.")
Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield walked down the long cement path from the football locker rooms at Wofford College to the hot valley of practice fields behind Gibbs Stadium ahead of their first Panthers training camp practice.
The first two quarterbacks chosen in the 2018 draft matched strides as fans chanted and screamed (mostly for Mayfield) in anticipation of the opening chapter of a much-anticipated quarterback competition.
All either one of them has to do is grasp it and never let go.
“If you want something, you gotta go out and take it. That’s kind of the philosophy you got to have in anything in life, not just football or winning a quarterback competition,” Darnold said after practice. “So we’re both going to compete like heck to go out there and compete for the starting job.”
Darnold and Mayfield delivered distinctly different practices despite earning split reps during seven-on-seven competitive drills. Darnold played with poise, throwing five red-zone touchdowns and only three incompletions on 11 throws. Mayfield double-clutched several passes and ended practice with an unnecessary interception.
Darnold quarterbacked with comfort and understanding while Mayfield threw with ambition and hopefulness. That should not surprise anyone. Carolina traded for Mayfield 21 days ago. Mayfield said after practice he did not have a playbook two weeks ago. And due to the NFL’s no-contact rules, Mayfield couldn’t study or work with any of his new coaches until this week.
He has been learning on his own rather than being taught. Cramming on plane rides with his wife, Emily, and their family dog does not compare to the nine weeks of OTAs and three minicamps Darnold, rookie Matt Corral and veteran P.J. Walker digested this spring.
Darnold outplayed Mayfield on Wednesday, throwing to first-team targets Robbie Anderson, D.J. Moore, Tommy Tremble, Ian Thomas and Christian McCaffrey. Thomas, Tremble, and McCaffrey (twice) all caught touchdown passes from Darnold. Coach Matt Rhule said Mayfield will rep with the first team Thursday. Meaning Darnold will take second-team reps with Brandon Zylstra, Keith Kirkwood, Rashard Higgins and tight ends Stephen Sullivan and Colin Thompson.
“We really wanted our guys to have the ability to work with the same receivers for the entire day,” Rhule said. “Especially since Baker got the install last night, and this morning he’s out here trying to execute it. So we want those guys to have some consistency at receiver for the first two days.”
Often Darnold knew exactly where to throw. His first reads were usually the right decision. However, he nearly threw an interception to linebacker Damien Wilson on a broken play while scrambling right. Wilson failed to keep both his feet inbounds. Darnold attempted most of his throws near the line of scrimmage. Four of his five touchdowns came within 5 yards of pay dirt.
He threw with confidence, even shimmying after a touchdown toss to Tremble, which the second-year tight end corralled through a tight window. Contradictory to his 4-7 record and 13-interception season last year, Darnold looked reborn.
“I feel like last year I didn’t play as well as I could have. I got hurt, which didn’t help the situation,” Darnold said. “So I think that’s what it is about. If I get an opportunity, and when I get an opportunity, it’s about playing well, playing consistent, not turning the ball over, getting the ball in the end zone and staying healthy.”
Darnold did all that on Day 1 with a sprinkle of California comfort.
Mayfield’s first day
Mayfield regretted some of his throws, along with his decision to wear long sleeves and pants.
“(There were) some good things, not excited about some of the throws accuracy-wise. Got a little greedy on one. Gotta take care of the ball. So there was some good, but just not enough,” Mayfield said. “Pretty stupid for wearing a long sleeve and pants. But I’m stubborn. So I had to learn for myself.”
He’ll keep learning. Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo runs a complicated system. Mayfield said he’s come “pretty far” in such limited time. No one is ready for Spartanburg, South Carolina, heat until it’s experienced.
The same can be said about learning a new offense, with a new team while 80 miles away from a new home. Very little about Mayfield’s experience is familiar. He spent the first four years of his NFL career going through training camp at the Browns practice facility.
“I think this is a great opportunity to get off campus and really bond with the guys. It’s something about being in the dorms and not being able to go see your family,” Mayfield said. “Just being in there having meals together, getting to know the whole staff, your players. It’s just I think it’s a unique opportunity.”
Mayfield hasn’t been in a quarterback competition since 2015 when he walked on at Oklahoma. The Panthers traded a conditional fifth-round pick for Mayfield, which becomes a fourth-round pick if Mayfield plays 70% of the team’s snaps.
The Panthers’ first game is not until Sept. 11, a Week 1 matchup against the Browns. If that game occurred tomorrow, Mayfield would not start. He is not ready. But that’s the point of training camp and preseason. Mayfield will benefit from the NFL’s first normal preseason and training camp since COVID-19 shook the league (and the world) more than two years ago.
He has time to make mistakes. Mayfield said he “over communicates” with teammates and coaches to offset any depth or timing errors.
Eventually, Mayfield’s deep ball will strike. Some long balls will land in Moore or Anderson’s chest. He already knows where his favorable one-on-one matchups are and does not hesitate to let those rip.
It should take a few weeks for his aggressive ambition to mirror the offense’s precise timing. Once Mayfield finds his offensive equilibrium, the quarterback competition will truly begin.
“Teaching yourself the offense is is different than really learning it from who’s coaching it,” Mayfield said. “I’ve had a base knowledge of it. But now it’s, it’s about fine-tuning those details and really doing my job and doing it the best way.”
Notes
▪ Get used to seeing lots of Higgins. The six-year veteran spelled Moore a few times during seven-on-seven drills. He worked with the first, second and third teams, earning targets from Darnold and Corral.
▪ The shoulder pants and pants are not on yet, but the offensive line is staying plenty busy configuring itself. Second-year lineman Brady Christensen took some first-team reps at tackle only to swap with rookie Ikem Ekwonu, who was at left guard a few plays later.
▪ The Panthers put cornerback Jaycee Horn and linebacker Shaq Thompson on the PUP list. In their absence, C.J Henderson and new linebacker Cory Littleton took first-team reps.
