USC QB Sam Darnold declares for the 2018 NFL Draft

USC Trojans quarterback Sam Darnold has made a somewhat surprising decision and left school early, declaring for the 2018 NFL Draft…

Call 2018 the year of the quarterback, apparently.

After a lot of speculation that he would be returning to school for his redshirt junior season, USC Trojans quarterback Sam Darnold announced on his social media pages that he would be taking his talents to the professional ranks.

With an opportunity and near certainty to be selected in the top five picks of the NFL Draft, it was just too much for Darnold to pass up on.

This is huge news for the Denver Broncos, who are picking fifth overall in the 2018 NFL Draft and will have a real chance at drafting one of Darnold, Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield, or UCLA’s Josh Rosen with their top pick.

What the Broncos have to decide is whether or not they want to take a leap into the 2018 season with a rookie as their unquestioned starting quarterback.

John Elway recently said that scenario is ‘not ideal’ but also said noted that he did it, and that a lot of playing as a rookie depends on how you respond to difficult situations as a player.

I would say — having scouted Darnold now for the past two seasons, that there is no other quarterback I would take ahead of him 100 out of 100 times in difficult, clutch situations.

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While Darnold showed he has a bit of an unhealthy habit of turning the ball over this season, that doesn’t change the fact that he has arguably the biggest potential at the next level as well.

Darnold has special arm talent, is a very good athlete, and is one of the smartest young men in this entire draft class. Just getting to listen to him in a few interviews, and hearing what coaches have said about him, I get the sense that Darnold will emerge from the pre-draft evaluation process as one of the most coveted players in the draft for his intangible qualities.

As much as people thought he needed to return to school for another year to hone his craft, there was no way he could risk going back and getting hurt when he was a near lock for the top five picks behind an offensive line that struggled to give him any time whatsoever in the team’s loss to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

John Elway, Gary Kubiak, and Matt Russell were in attendance for that game, and I think whatever evaluation they had of Darnold prior to that game was affirmed. He made some incredible plays, and he tried to do too much when the game was all but out of reach.