Christian McCaffrey’s scouting report on Darnold shined last season
Here’s NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport discussing how 49ers Sam Darnold has a chance to resurrect his career against the Bengals on Thursday morning:
“He didn’t look right and those decisions didn’t make sense. When you find out he may have been battling a concussion, it makes a little more sense.
Sam Darnold looked very good in camp. He beat Trey Lance. They ranked him above Trey Lance for a reason. I’m suddenly very interested in this game as we see Sam Darnold trying to resurrect his career. He can do it this Sunday.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday afternoon that he is confident in Darnold’s ability:
“I trust Sam as much as I can with someone I haven’t been in a real NFL game with. He’s been great in the offseason. He’s been brilliant here these seven weeks and he’s always ready to go.
He is great in meetings and otherwise. He doesn’t get a lot of reps like every quarterback, but he does well on the scout team, he’s always good in meetings. Today we mostly hit walks so Brock gets to take some walks as well. We have some episodes that aren’t there, so Sam gets those parts.”
Much has been made of Darnold’s career … the shortcomings … and how he has performed in the past. But Darnold didn’t have a chance to throw to Brandon Aiyuki and George Kittle. If it’s Darnold, he’ll have a familiar face in the backfield in Christian McCaffrey. During the offseason, McCaffrey provided a scouting report on Darnold during his time in Carolina:
“He can do everything. He can make every pitch. He’s smart. He picks things up quickly and gets the job done. Doesn’t overdo everything, does exactly what he said all the time and gives it a lot of edge. , too. He’s tough as hell. His toughness to me is something he doesn’t get enough credit for.”
Next, we look at how Darnold can learn from Brock Purdy in Sunday’s game if he is indeed ruled out. We’ll also emphasize how Brock played pretty well Monday night that this isn’t Darnold’s audition.
Shanahan won’t give Darnold anything he can’t handle. If Darnold is called up and plays inside, the offense will be good. The 49ers are hoping to get a version of Darnold that doesn’t cheat.
