Developing QBs in the NFL is a major issue facing more teams than Falcons

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Developing quarterbacks in the NFL always has been an inexact science, with mixed results each season for almost every team.

The issue will be at the center of the Super Bowl when the Patriots face the Seahawks at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.

The Patriots are led by quarterback Drake Maye, who’s in his second year in the league. Seattle is led by veteran Sam Darnold, who’s on his fifth team in six seasons after being taken third overall in the 2018 NFL draft by the Jets.

The Patriots have had a plan to develop Maye, while Darnold, who played at Southern California, has bounced around the league from the Jets (2018-20) to the Panthers (’21-’22), 49ers (’23) and Vikings (’24) and now the Seahawks.

The Falcons have been on the quarterback merry-go-round since trading Matt Ryan in 2022. They signed Kirk Cousins in free agency last year to a four-year, $180 million deal — Cousins renegotiated the deal last month — and drafted Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick a few months later.

Falcons president of football Matt Ryan was noncommittal on Penix being the starter when he gets healthy from left knee surgery. Penix took to social media discuss his football journey being a study in perseverance.

He’ll have to continue to develop under the new coaching staff, but new coach Kevin Stefanski went to the playoffs as a coordinator in 2019 with Cousins as his quarterback in Minnesota.

New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who worked with Tom Brady for years and several other quarterbacks, is in charge of Maye’s development.

“Understanding where he was when we first got here,” McDaniel said. “Really diving into that and figuring that out. Drake’s been great. He’s very honest and open about where he is, what he thinks.”

There is a give-and-take relationship. McDaniels has had to make sure that he doesn’t overload Maye.

“If he doesn’t understand something and then just going at his pace,” McDaniels said. “I think that’s really the big thing, if you meet every player where they’re at, in terms of their overall development.”

Once that meeting at the common place is established, then progress can be made.

“Then start from there,” McDaniels said. “Then you’re going to make more progress. Yeah, you’re going to make more progress. So, doing that with Drake has been helpful for us. We got to keep going.”

Maye has made a dramatic turnaround this season.

He struggled as a rookie last season as the Patriots went 4-13. The Patriots flipped the record to 14-3 this season, with Maye passing for 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns and just eight interceptions.

That included to a 24-23 victory over the Falcons on Nov. 2.

Maye has been seen getting downfield to make blocks on long running plays by the running backs. He’s also become more vocal.

New England coach Mike Vrabel felt that McDaniels would be a key member to his staff.

“My role as a coach is making sure that I put a great staff together,” Vrabel said. “Bring everybody together. The staff. The building. Making sure that everyone understands what their role is and has a clear expectation of what’s expected of them.”

Vrabel wanted Maye to have a comfortable learning environment.

“I think the relationship between the coach and the players is really special,” Vrabel said. “It’s one that I don’t take for granted.”

Head of the class

Maye was a part of the historic 2024 draft class that saw six quarterbacks taken within the first 12 picks. There were six quarterbacks taken in the 1983 first round, but that was within the first 27 picks.

Caleb Williams (first, Bears), Jayden Daniels (second, Commanders), Maye (third, Patriots), Penix (eighth, Falcons), J.J. McCarthy (10th, Vikings) and Bo Nix (12th, Broncos) were taken in 2024.

Williams, Daniels, Maye and Nix have reached the playoffs. Daniels went to the NFC title game as a rookie. Nix helped the Broncos reach the AFC title game this season.

“All of those guys are great players,” Maye said. “I know we’ll have a lot of great matchups between each other down the road. I know they’re great players and have had great years. I’m looking forward to many more matchups with them.”

Like Maye, Darnold was drafted third overall. His journey from draft bust to the Super Bowl is remarkable.

After 38 starts, the Jets gave up on Darnold and traded him to the Panthers.

He had a 13-25 record and a passer rating of 78.6 with the Jets. It was the second-worst in the NFL among quarterbacks with at least 15 starts from 2018-20.

He was ridiculed after a microphone caught him saying that he was “seeing ghosts” in a loss to New England in 2019.

After two seasons in Carolina, Darnold resurfaced in San Francisco. He credits his time with 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan with turning his career around. He started only one game and threw 46 passes, as the 49ers went to the Super Bowl behind quarterback Brock Purdy in 2023.

Last season, Darnold finally found success in Minnesota, as he won 14 games and took the Vikings to the playoffs.

“I always believed in myself,” Darnold said. “I knew that I could do this at a high level, and that was really it.”

Darnold has made the most of his opportunities, and Seattle signed him to a three-year, $100.5 million contract.

“That’s what kept me going and knew at some point an opportunity would arise,” Darnold said. “But even if it didn’t, I knew I did everything that I can to become a better player year in and year out.”

Seattle has a stingy defense and solid running game. The Seahawks don’t ask Darnold to do too much.

“Well, Sam has gotten to this point. We were there to help, as with all of our players,” Seattle coach Mike Macdonald said. “Sam’s story is a little more in the limelight. That’s made him who is today. Our role in the whole thing is to be supportive.”

The Seahawks traded Geno Smith to the Raiders to make room for Darnold.