Huard: Seahawks QB Darnold thriving at attacking the middle

Through the first two games of his Seattle Seahawks tenure, Sam Darnold has excelled at throwing between the hash marks.

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In Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers, Darnold completed 4 of 4 passes for 65 yards on throws over the middle third of the field, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

And in Sunday’s win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Darnold completed 12 of 14 passes for 169 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions on middle-of-the-field throws. That included multiple third-down conversions to Cooper Kupp, a 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end AJ Barner and a key 43-yard deep ball over the top to Jaxon Smith-Njigba that helped seal the victory.

During Tuesday’s Blue 88 segment on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk, former NFL quarterback Brock Huard highlighted Darnold’s success between the hashes.

“Sam can throw it to the numbers. Sam can throw it outside. Sam’s got plenty of horsepower,” Huard said. “But he really likes to throw between the hashmarks. And just like anything, if you build your (team) to be strong from the inside out, then some of the best ways to attack is from the inside out.”

And 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 why you never blink. @_ajbarner_

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As Huard mentioned, many of the Seahawks’ top pass-catching targets are best utilized over the middle portion of the field.

“You can certainly take advantage of things on the outside,” Huard said. “But where’s the strength of Sam’s game? And where’s the strength of your personnel right now? Cooper Kupp is amazing at feeling space between the hashes. JSN’s body control and short-area quickness is off the charts. And you’ve even got tight ends in Arroyo and AJ Barner fully capable of taking care of the middle of the field.

“So that was a huge, huge strength Sunday. And if it continues to be, that’s a wonderful way to take defenses apart.”

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