Josh Norman raves about Jets QB Sam Darnold: 'He's putting it on the money'
RICHMOND, Va. – Entering this week’s joint training camp practices with the New York Jets, cornerback Josh Norman didn’t know what to expect from rookie quarterback Sam Darnold.
He’d heard of him, sure, and saw highlights from his preseason debut. But that’s about it. Even after one day of practice, the Redskins’ star didn’t see anything particularly special in Darnold, whom the Jets drafted third overall and this week seem to be preparing for his first start (Thursday night against Washington).
But two more days of facing Darnold changed Norman’s mind.
“You go out here and see him with these throws and it's like, ‘That’s not so much of a college-level throw. He's putting it on the money,’ ” Norman said Tuesday following his team’s final practice against the Jets. “Then you go out there 7-on-7 and it's like, ‘Doggit, this little kid is not making mistakes.' He's really accurate! It’s like, dang! You try to get rookies in here and you're trying to mess with them and bait them and throw a route you can make a play on and he's not having it. It's crazy to see it at such an early age. Dak (Prescott) has that, Carson (Wentz) has that. ... He, so far, has impressed me, and I didn't want him to. I wanted to break all rookie's backs.”
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Norman did his best to demoralize Darnold. He acknowledged trying to bait the quarterback into an interception during one 7-on-7 drill in particular.
“I kind of gave him some cheese,” Norman said before describing the play on which he planned to trick Darnold into thinking his receiver was open. Then, Norman planned to jump the route and pick off the pass.
“He was going to throw it, then he pulled it back, so I was like, ‘You little devil. I see you. You’re working really good right now.’ I couldn’t bait him like I wanted to. He saw it and read it like a vet, and I had to tip my hat to him because he’s learning at an early age when someone is messing with him or not. I think he’s got the smarts and willingness. He’s going to make plays.”
Follow Mike Jones on Twitter @ByMikeJones.