Former New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis couldn’t believe the team took USC quarterback Sam Darnold in the 2018 NFL Draft.
If you’re a New York Jets fan who is happy with the team’s decision to make USC quarterback Sam Darnold the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, then you should be very happy that former cornerback Darrelle Revis wasn’t part of the decision-making process.
Because it doesn’t sound like the future Hall of Fame inductee would have made that move.
Wow what a surprise. I’m a huge Josh Rosen fan!!! Guess Sam Darnold will have to show what he capable of.
— Darrelle Revis (@Revis24) April 27, 2018
“Wow what a surprise. I’m a huge Josh Rosen fan!!! Guess Sam Darnold will have to show what he capable of” Revis tweeted minutes after the Jets’ selection was made.
When reassured by a fan that Darnold would, Revis replied:
I hope he is better than the rest of the USC QBs. USC QBs haven’t developed great QBs over the years even when Pete Carroll was the head coach. Only one QB has been successful and it’s Carson Palmer!!!
— Darrelle Revis (@Revis24) April 27, 2018
” I hope he is better than the rest of the USC QBs. USC QBs haven’t developed great QBs over the years even when Pete Carroll was the head coach. Only one QB has been successful and it’s Carson Palmer!!!”
Revis isn’t wrong. Six USC signal-callers have been drafted in the first round since 1945 and Palmer is the only one who had any sort of sustained success in the NFL.
- 1945: Jim Hardy, eighth overall, Washington Redskins
- 1964: Pete Beathard, fifth overall, Detroit Lions*
- 1991: Todd Marinovich, 24th overall, Los Angeles Raiders
- 2003: Carson Palmer, first overall, Cincinnati Bengals
- 2006: Matt Leinart, 10th overall, Arizona Cardinals
- 2009: Mark Sanchez, sixth overall, New York Jets
*Note: Beathard was also selected second overall in the AFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.
It’s highly likely that Revis is scarred by the four years he watched Mark Sanchez under center for the Jets.
While the team did advance to consecutive AFC Championship Games in 2009 and 2010 with Sanchez as the quarterback, it was Revis and the defense that carried Gang Green to their success.
That said, Darnold seems to be cut from a different cloth than Sanchez was.
As for Rosen, the former UCLA quarterback, who was selected 10th overall by the Arizona Cardinals, believes that the nine teams who passed on him made a mistake.
Only time will tell whether Allen and Revis—or the Jets—was right.
