Darnold finally lived up to what was expected when he was drafted third overall in 2018. He set career highs across the board last season, including 35 TD passes, fifth in the league, as he finished QB9 in fantasy. Darnold's completion percentage ranked only 16th, but that's partly because his average target depth was 8.9 yards, fifth highest. In fact, of the 11 QBs whose aDOT topped 8.5 yards, Darnold's 66.2 completion percentage was higher than all but Lamar Jackson (66.7%), and just barely. Darnold was excellent throwing deep, leading the league with a 46.7 completion percentage and nine TDs on attempts of 20-plus yards. He entered the MVP conversation with an 18/2 TD/INT Weeks 11-17, but the Vikings soured when he failed to throw a TD with the NFC North on the line in Week 18 and then took nine sacks in the Vikings' wild-card loss. The Vikings traded him to Seattle where his struggles under pressure -- 31st in on-target percentage under pressure (42.0%) -- might be a problem behind a weak offensive line. Seattle's only upgrade was 18th overall pick LG Grey Zabel. Another problem will be life without Justin Jefferson. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is the No. 1 target but is untested on the outside, where he likely will move after the Seahawks traded DK Metcalf and signed Cooper Kupp. New OC Klint Kubiak, though, worked with Darnold in San Francisco in 2023, and likely will create a better gameplan than what Geno Smith dealt with last year.
