SAN JOSE — There might be a lot of factors contributing to Sam Darnold moving onto his third team in his short NFL career, but 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Darnold's arm talent is not one of them.
At the suggestion Darnold has a unique ability to throw the football, Shanahan said he fully agrees.
“I don’t think that’s a big controversial statement, Sam is an unbelievable thrower,” Shanahan said while at the Dwight Clark Legacy event at the California Theater Wednesday night. “He was born to do that.”
Shanahan went on to add that now-Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is in the same category as Darnold in regard to throwing ability. But of course, that’s not all you need to be a successful quarterback in the league.
“There are only a few people on this planet who can throw at the level that you need to throw at to succeed in this league,” Shanahan said. “Sam is one of those guys who can throw like that. That’s why Jimmy was a second-round draft pick coming from Eastern Illinois, because he was such a gifted thrower. And then it’s how do you play after that.”
The head coach detailed that being a talented passer is one element that can help a quarterback succeed in the league along with athlete ability. But then, it’s how they are able to use those skills that translate into winning games in the NFL.
Darnold saw an incredible amount of success while under center at USC completing 549 of his 846 attempts and 57 touchdowns and 22 interceptions over his two-season stretch. As a result, the Southern California native was selected by the New York Jets as the No. 3 overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft.
San Francisco 49ers
“He hasn’t been in the best situations, so that’s why I’m glad to have him here and glad that he wanted to come here,” Shanahan said. “He could have gone to a lot of other situations and probably made a lot more money because Sam is at that level.”
Darnold boasted a nearly 65-percent completion rate as a Trojan but once in the league, his completion rate dropped and his interception rate skyrocketed. Over his five-year NFL career, the 25-year-old has a 59.7-percent completion rate with 61 touchdowns and 55 interceptions.
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Now, set as one of three healthy quarterbacks on the roster heading into the offseason, Darnold is set to compete with Trey Lance and later, the leader in the clubhouse, Brock Purdy.
“I do believe we have three quarterbacks talent-wise that are all capable of being franchise-type quarterbacks, but that’s just capable,” Shanahan said. “There’s been a lot of guys who have been capable. It’s how do you play and how you win games and Brock’s done that in his eight. We have two other guys on the roster who we strongly believe can do that also.”