Huard: The Seahawks ‘what-if’ question nobody is asking

With back-to-back Pro Bowl campaigns and a Super Bowl title, Sam Darnold has rewritten the narrative of his NFL career.

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Gone are the questions regarding Darnold’s status as an NFL starting quarterback. He’s proven that, no doubt.

But what if there’s still another level to Darnold’s game? What if, at age 29, the Seattle Seahawks’ QB1 is still ascending?

Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard posed that question during a recent Blue 88 segment on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.

“What if Sam Darnold is better? Like, really, really better?” Huard said. “Because I was out there (at training camp) a couple days, and I watched all of mandatory minicamp. And you know who was better than he was last year? Sam Darnold. You know who is infinitely better right now than he was exactly 12 months ago in training camp? Sam Darnold.

“What if Sam Darnold takes the next step in his career? Instead of just being a great story, … what if he actually is that good? Because he’s playing that way right now. And I know it’s training camp, but I also know it’s up against one of the best defenses in the NFL.”

Darnold’s breakthrough began in 2024, when he quarterbacked the Minnesota Vikings to a 14-3 regular season and finished fifth in the NFL in passing yards (4,319), fifth in touchdown passes (35) and sixth in yards per pass attempt (7.9).

In 2025, Darnold took things to another level in Seattle. He once again went 14-3 in the regular season. He finished eighth in completion rate (67.7%), fifth in passing yards (4,048), tied for ninth in touchdown passes (25) and second in yards per pass attempt (8.5).

And during the Seahawks’ Super Bowl run, Darnold rose to the occasion with a standout NFC Championship Game performance, throwing for 346 yards, three TDs and no interceptions in Seattle’s 31-27 win over the archrival Los Angeles Rams.

Now, with a Lombardi Trophy in hand, Darnold enters his ninth NFL season on the firmest footing of his career.

“What if in Year 9 he takes another step forward?” Huard said. “Yeah, then it’s not going to be a conversation about 15th in the league or 10th in the league. You could be talking about a top-five QB.”

Listen to the full Blue 88 segment at this link or in the audio player near the middle of this story. Tune into Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

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