For a while, it looked like Seahawks fans might be waiting a long time to hear Sam Darnold’s name on the NFL Top 100 list. Devon Witherspoon had already been left out, and as the countdown moved into the 20s, the tension around Seattle’s Super Bowl-winning quarterback only grew.
Then Friday arrived, and Darnold landed at No. 21.
That finish marked a huge rise from where he sat a year ago: a jump of 51 spots. And the support around him wasn’t exactly subtle. Some of the league’s top defenders made the case for why Darnold belongs near the top of the quarterback conversation.
Byron Murphy II didn’t hold back, saying, “Top five quarterback in the league. And not five either.”
Grey Zabel was just as emphatic in backing his quarterback: “That’s my guy. That’s my QB. That’s a guy you want to go to war for and protect him at all costs.”
Derek Stingley, one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks and a star for the Houston Texans, praised what makes Darnold tough to shake. “Nothing seems to rattle him. Like, if he has pressure in his face, it seems like he still somehow makes the right throw.”
The ranking lines up with the numbers Darnold put up in 2025. He finished fifth in the league with 4,048 passing yards and was also fifth in DVOA. He tied for ninth in touchdown passes and tied for fourth in game-winning drives.
With four quarterbacks still to be revealed, the players’ rankings suggest Darnold has landed as the fifth-best quarterback in the league - unless, of course, you’re asking Byron Murphy.
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