In the weeks leading up to the 2017-18 NFL season, the 49ers kept one eye on their rebuilding roster and the other on the top quarterbacks in college football, specifically USC’s Sam Darnold.
Now that San Francisco is 0-7 as of Sunday, and the reality that neither Brian Hoyer or C.J. Beathard are long-term solutions at quarterback is settling in, the need for a productive 2018 Draft is crucial.
Although the 49ers may have considered drafting Darnold this April, that is no longer an option, as Benjamin Allbright reported Monday morning that the sophomore quarterback is likely to stay at USC for another season.
USC source says Darnold is unlikely to leave this year.
Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson & to a lesser degree Josh Rosen your viable QBs.
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) October 23, 2017
Darnold flew under the radar at the start of last year as USC went 1-3 in their first four games. Nonetheless, he played a pivotal role in turning USC’s season around with a nine-game winning streak at the end of the year. He finished his freshman campaign with 31 touchdowns, 3,068 yards, a 67.2 completion percentage in 13 games and put on a historic performance in the 2017 Rose Bowl.
Darnold picked up his sophomore season where his freshman season left off and helped USC to a four-game winning streak with 9 touchdowns and 1,225 yards. Now eight games into the season, Darnold is third in the Pac-12 in total offense with 17 touchdowns, 2,321 yards and 290.1 yards per game.
This continuation of success begs the questions as to why Darnold would not take his chances in the 2018 Draft. Aside from a sudden rise in interceptions this season – Darold has 10 interceptions in eight games, when last year he only threw nine – and coming off a blowout defeat to Notre Dame, Darnold appears to be ready to move on to the NFL.
Well, as ready as a 20-year-old quarterback can be.
Should Darnold decide to return to USC next season, the 49ers would have to re-evaluate their strategy heading into the 2018 Draft with plenty of questions left to answer.
Time will tell what Darnold decides to do and if the 49ers have a shot at him in this year’s draft, but for right now that option doesn’t appear to be on the table.