Nobody is arguing that Sam Darnold belongs above Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes or the other quarterbacks sitting near the top of the latest ESPN Top 10 quarterback rankings.
But should he have rounded out the top five? Absolutely.
Was Sam Darnold undervalued by ESPN?
In what confused many, Darnold was left outside the top 10 and placed among the honorable mentions despite doing the one thing every player sets out to do: win the Super Bowl.
He led the Vikings to the postseason in 2024 before signing with the Seahawks in 2025. From there, he went on to win three postseason games and a Super Bowl in his first season in Seattle.
However, none of the aforementioned feats were enough to earn a spot on the top-10 list and were only good enough for honorable mention.
Darnold’s regular-season numbers were not average by any means. He completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. His 8.5 yards per attempt trailed only Drake Maye among the quarterbacks ranked sixth through 10th. Darnold then added 672 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions during Seattle’s championship run.
The truth is in the numbers and the postseason success
Now, let’s take those stats and compare them to those who made the back end of ESPN’s Top 10 list.
Next in the sixth spot is Dak Prescott, who passed for 4,552 yards and 30 TDs. Nobody would debate that he put up solid numbers last season. But Prescott is also a career 2-5 in the playoffs and has not led the Cowboys past the divisional round. Darnold has actually accounted for more playoff wins last season than Prescott has in his entire career.
Drake Maye deserves his eighth-place ranking after completing 72 percent of his passes with 31 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. He also reached the Super Bowl. The problem for Darnold’s placement is rather obvious: Maye lost that game to Darnold and the Seahawks.
Jared Goff finished ninth after another productive season in Detroit. He threw for 4,564 yards, 34 touchdowns and posted a 105.5 passer rating. Goff has also enjoyed legitimate postseason success and played in a Super Bowl with the Rams, making him the closest comparison of the group. Still, Darnold just completed the championship run Detroit has spent years trying to finish.
Justin Herbert? No explanation needed. He is six seasons in and still has not won a playoff game. His numbers are meaningless because he is the only one on this list to never see postseason success.
Then there is Caleb Williams at No. 10. Williams threw for 27 touchdowns to just seven interceptions, but he completed just 58.1 percent of his throws with just 6.9 yards per completion. While Williams’ ceiling may be higher, Darnold currently owns the better production, a stronger recent resume and a championship ring. Ranking Williams ahead of him requires projecting what Williams might become while discounting what Darnold already did. That seems to be the real issue.
Is Sam Darnold unfairly judged?
It seems as if Darnold is still being judged by the quarterback he was with the Jets and Panthers. His early career apparently carries more weight than back-to-back playoff seasons with different teams and a Super Bowl championship.
ESPN’s top five is difficult to crack. Nobody should pretend otherwise. Once the rankings reach Prescott, Herbert, Maye, Goff and Williams, however, Darnold has every right to be included. He did not merely play well last season; he finished the job everyone else is still trying to complete.
