While the hype train for Sam Darnold and his NFL prospects continues to chug along, the USC QB isn't resting on his laurels.
Darnold began working last month with former-NFL-QB-turned-QB-coach Jordan Palmer to shorten his long throwing motion, one of the potential flaws in his game that scouts have identified.
"His circle is, when your hands come apart, the ball comes down a little bit, and then it starts to come back up and then it goes all the way up behind your head and it goes forward when you throw," Palmer said, per The Orange County Register. "Right now, Sam's circle is bigger than it needs to be."
Darnold likened his delivery to Jameis Winston's, a fellow former baseball player who altered his long throwing motion once he entered the NFL.
"I've done it before," Darnold said, "to create muscle memory to do things or not to do things. I think if I can just continue to work on it, it'll improve, you know?"
NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah recently scouted Darnold in three game tapes from last season, and he didn't sound the alarm when it came to evaluating his throwing motion.
"Much will be made about Darnold's long delivery," Jeremiah wrote. "I'm not quite as worried about it as some other evaluators. I've seen him tighten it up when bodies are around him, and while I do agree it's a long release, it isn't monotone or sluggish like Byron Leftwich's. Russell Wilson has a similar release. Wilson drops the ball down below his waist but it's an explosive movement and the ball comes out quick. It's much the same for the USC QB."
Indeed, one scout even cautioned against tinkering too much with Darnold's throwing motion, per NFL Network's Charles Davis.
For now, Darnold's weaker areas aren't keeping him from dominating the competition, but not everyone is sold that he's the next big thing. His game will be as scrutinized as any this year as a prospect who could be available in the 2018 draft should he declare after the 2017 season.
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