Sam Darnold’s place on ESPN’s 2026 top 100 is hard to miss for all the wrong reasons. A quarterback fresh off a Lombardi Trophy landed at No. 100, dead last on the list, even after helping Seattle finish 14-3 and win the NFC.
ESPN built the ranking around what it expects from players in 2026, not what they already accomplished, and that approach left Darnold buried at the bottom despite the season he just put together. The note attached to his spot came from Seahawks beat writer Brady Henderson, and it framed Darnold’s year as a mix of production and baggage.
"No quarterback has more wins over the past two seasons than Darnold, who has 31 with the Vikings and Seahawks," Henderson wrote. "He'd be higher on this list if not for his league-high 20 turnovers in 2025, though he went the final four games without one. One reason Darnold could be better in 2026: This is the first time since 2020 that he returns to the same team as its unquestioned starter."
Those 20 turnovers are doing a lot of damage to his standing, and ESPN’s own projection for next season reflects that skepticism: 4,013 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Those are solid numbers for most quarterbacks, just not the kind that scream elite for a reigning champion.
Still, the bigger picture around Darnold is about continuity, something he’s rarely had before. He enters 2026 at 29, back in Mike Macdonald’s system for a second year, with Seattle keeping key pieces in place by paying Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Leonard Williams. The roster around him has been reinforced, not torn apart, and that matters for a quarterback who’s finally getting the same setup again.
The results have piled up fast. Darnold followed a 14-3 season in Minnesota with another 14-3 run in Seattle, and only one other quarterback in league history has stacked back-to-back 14-win seasons: Tom Brady, in 2003 and 2004.
His regular-season line with the Seahawks was 4,048 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Smith-Njigba was right there with him, producing a career-best 1,793 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns on 119 catches and 163 targets.
The Super Bowl wasn’t a fireworks show from Darnold. In Seattle’s 29-13 win over New England, he went 19 of 38 for 202 yards and one touchdown, while the defense and running game carried the load.
The postseason, though, told a cleaner story. Seattle rolled past San Francisco in the divisional round, then Darnold threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns in the NFC Championship win over the Rams. Most importantly, he didn’t turn the ball over once in January after leading the league in turnovers during the regular season.
So ESPN’s ranking is a blunt reminder that the mistakes still loom large. Seattle’s title defense begins Sept. 9 against the Patriots at Lumen Field, with Darnold entering it as a champion who still has something to prove.
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