Rams’ Rival’s New Quarterback Must Be Taken Seriously

The Los Angeles Rams ended the Minnesota Vikings' season last year in the playoffs, largely due to their suffocating defense and their ability to generate pressure on Sam Darnold. It was a defensive masterclass from players like Jared Verse and Braden Fiske, who were rookies in their very first minutes of playoff football.

Now, Darnold is the starting quarterback for their divisional rivals, the Seattle Seahawks, which means he will have to face the very same ferocious defensive line that obliterated him in the playoffs at least twice a year.

The Seahawks are predicted by many analysts to fall off next season, after being the team closest to competing for the division with the Rams, ending the season with the same record as them, but not making it to the playoffs due to their strength of schedule being weaker than that of Los Angeles.

Chris Trapasso is a sports writer for CBS Sports, and he recently published an article going over what each team's new starting quarterback brings to their team. He praises the Seahawks' signing of Darnold for his schematic fit with their offense.

"On paper, by following coaching tree branches, Darnold and Seahawks new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak should be an exquisite fit on paper from a scheme perspective. Klint Kubiak is the son of Gary Kubiak, who famously worked under Mike Shanahan in the late 1990s.

Gary Kubiak has long ties to Kyle Shanahan -- and even gave Shanahan his first OC job with the Texans in 2008. And who is one of the primary branches off the still young, but exponentially growing Kyle Shanahan coaching tree?

Kevin O'Connell, the Vikings head coach, who helped orchestrate Darnold's otherworldly resurgence from the land of draft busts in 2024, when he threw for over 4,300 yards with 35 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 102.5 rating, which ranked sixth in the NFL last season. 

As we saw in the extremely costly regular-season finale loss, and the subsequent wild-card defeat against the Rams, Darnold can implode. He also can also produce majestic highs, probably more so than the steadier Smith, whom Darnold has replaced in Seattle. 

In 2024, Darnold completed 36 passes with 20+ air yards, the highest figure among any quarterback in football. He did so with the third-highest adjusted completion rate (50.6%) on those deep passes".

The Rams and Seahawks games have a lot of storylines converging next season, as Rams legendary wide receiver Cooper Kupp also joined them this offseason. Their games will be more heated than ever, with the Rams expected to be the heavy favorites.