It was announced several days ago that week one in the 2021/22 NFL season will feature the Carolina Panthers going up against the New York Jets, now overall it may seem like just a regular football game correct? No, the starting quarterback on the Panthers is Sam Darnold and Darnold played with the Jets till just a few months back, being traded in the most recent off season. Sam Darnold was drafted 3rd overall by the Jets in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft after playing college at USC. Zach Wilson was just drafted 2nd overall in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft after playing college at BYU. In just a three year span the Jets have drafted two first round quarterbacks and for the last decade no quarterback has lasted three or more seasons with the team.
As mentioned earlier the Jets outed Darnold due to poor performance and then drafted Wilson. Sam Darnold wants revenge and he will have the chance to claim it very soon. To compare these two QB's we will be going off their college stats since Wilson has never played in the NFL.
Zack Wilson
30GP - 28GS - 67.6P% - 7,652yd - 56TD - 15INT - 162.9Rtg
Sam Darnold
27GP - 24GS - 64.9P% - 7,229Yds - 57TD - 22INT - 155.6Rtg
Overall Darnold has played three fewer games than Wilson, even though Darnold has more touchdowns the amount of interceptions he has averages to almost one per game. Zach Wilson is coming in with a better roster and coach than Darnold did back in '18, which is definitely a benefit. It is hard to adjust to a new team, but you can say that about both players due to them having no advantage there. Overall though the Panthers have better blocking as the Jets, which is a plus. With all of that said here is our predictions.
Panthers 23 17 Jets
Darnold 23-30 301yds 2TD 1INT
Wilson 18-30 258yds 2TD