Sam Darnold made his preseason debut for the Seattle Seahawks on Friday night in their 33-16 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Despite being a brief appearance for Darnold, one NFL analyst is sold about the 28-year-old's fit with Seattle.
Darnold completed 4 of 4 passes for 34 passing yards against the Chiefs. While it wasn't an extended appearance, NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah shared his positive thoughts on what he saw from the former Minnesota Vikings signal-caller.
"He looked very comfortable, and [the Seahawks coaching staff] made it very easy on him," Jeremiah said. "I don't know what the average depth of target was in the first half. It was not much. It was a lot of quick hitters for Sam. Get him in a rhythm, get him comfortable."
"This is a nice marriage between scheme and player"@MoveTheSticks likes what he saw from Sam Darnold tonight pic.twitter.com/lXDOTtvtIL
— NFL GameDay (@NFLGameDay) August 16, 2025
Moreover, Jeremiah noted that Darnold looked like he was running an offense that he's familiar with and noted the details that should make Seattle fans excited about having the veteran under center this season.
"You could tell he's not new to this system," Jeremiah added. "This is not somebody that's going to a new location, has a whole new system to learn. He's very comfortable. You can tap into his athleticism and move him around a little bit... This is a nice marriage between scheme and player."
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Last season, Darnold completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 4,319 yards with 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions across 17 games for the Vikings, leading them to 14 wins and a postseason berth.
That performance convinced the Seahawks to sign him to a three-year, $100.5 million contract, which reportedly includes $55 million guaranteed, after trading Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders.
If Darnold carries that level of play into the 2025 NFL season, Seattle can expect production similar to what he delivered in Minnesota in a competitive NFC West with the Los Angeles Rams and a San Francisco 49ers team looking to bounce back.