The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots both have a top-three draft pick at quarterback, but their journeys to Super Bowl LX couldn't be more different.
Super Bowl LX is set to feature two completely different quarterback stories between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks – despite both being former No. 3 overall picks. One was one vote shy of tying Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matt Stafford for the league MVP award. The other was all but declared a bust as a journeyman that finally found success in Seattle. Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold traversed from the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers to the San Francisco 49ers, where he briefly shined as a backup. He then had a stint with the Minnesota Vikings before settling in Seattle.
It’s certainly a story no one saw coming, but it speaks to the importance of a championship-contending franchise and what that takes. Certainly, the Jets aren’t seen as a well-run organization. The Panthers had Darnold on the depth chart alongside Baker Mayfield and PJ Walker. Then he landed with 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, who knows how to make a quarterback operate, should they be capable of running his system. Then the Seahawks quietly became one of those organizations, with a lot of credit to Darnold and his play in the 2025 season that silenced a lot of fair doubters.
Here is the full story from Seahawks Roundtable writer Adam Schultz on Darnold’s journey and how he can cap it all off this Sunday.
Darnold has a chance to pull off the ultimate comeback from being written off by the NFL, though his two postseason appearance have showed he doesn’t have much left to prove.