Back in the day, becoming an NFL quarterback wasn’t a sprint—it was more like building IKEA furniture without instructions. You figured it out over time. Bruce Feldman’s The QB: The Making of Modern Quarterbacks pretty much spells it out: older QBs like Aaron Rodgers got time to simmer. “Those three years were crucial to me,” Rodgers said about his time while developing behind Brett Favre. “I got the chance to hone my skills and incorporate some things.” No rush. Just growth.

Now? Quarterbacks come out of college like they’re pre-packaged—trained by private gurus, mic’d up in 7-on-7 drills, and biomechanically broken down before draft day. Feldman called it a “quarterback revolution” in The QB. But let’s face it—that speed comes with pressure. The league’s baking cookies at 500°F, expecting perfection. Some young guys cook fast (CJ Stroud or Jayden Daniels). Others burn or take time (Mac Jones or Kenny Pickett). The old crew? They weren’t rushed. They were furnished. Seasoned. Built to last.

But amidst both the old-school and modern QBs, there are guys like Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, Jared Goff, and Geno Smith, to name a few. They weren’t part of the traditional QBs who developed behind vets (with a few exceptions). And yes, they were barely a part of the modern-tech trained era (VR). No wonder when Rich Eisen asked Mayfield and Goff about how many years it takes a QB to develop in the NFL, they straight-up admitted—five to six years.

And now? Well, Darnold recently stopped by The Rich Eisen Show, where Eisen reiterated the same question to Darnold—how many years does it take a QB to develop in the NFL? Darnold’s response?  Well, he agrees, but he also added some nuances to this conversation, including how young guys develop early. “I think, you know, there’s a timeline to everything,” he explained. “You know, you have guys like myself, Geno, that, you know, learn a lot throughout their career, and play better in their later years, you know, same thing as Baker, Jared.”

Before becoming a standout name in the league, Geno bounced around for years before Seattle provided him with a stable environment. Darnold’s breakout season came in his seventh year in the NFL with the Vikings. Mayfield played for four coaches in his first three years. They were rushed to lead the team’s offense, starting from their rookie season. However, it took them years to develop—at least that’s what Darnold believes.

But the Seahawks‘ QB has a different take on the modern QBs who developed early. “But also, you know, you have guys like CJ Stroud who just go out there and ball out, and also Jayden Daniels. Like, there’s so many different situations around the league that you can point to that are so different,” Darnold added. Bobby Slowik, the former OC of the Texans and a disciple of Kyle Shanahan, designed an O-line for Stroud with clear reads that helped him build confidence fast.

The result? A 9-6 record in his rookie season and even better in the following season. Daniels? Well, Daniels using VR to prepare to hone his skills is well-documented. But let’s be real—it’s not just on-field talent and the tech that new QBs are using to develop. In fact, Darnold believes that behind the development of modern QBs, there’s a mental and social side too.

“I feel like you can get a sense of kind of their, you know, how their brain works a little bit. You know, are they, you know, are they personable? Can they hang in a room with a bunch of different you know people, and I think that goes a long way as well,” Darnold said. Long story short: Sam Darnold agrees with Goff and Mayfield that it takes a QB to develop five to six years to develop in the NFL.

But he also believes that some guys start early, some take time. After the league rushed these rookies into play. Plain and simple. On the other side, after discussing the rookie QBs, Darnold also took some time out to appreciate his time in Minnesota.

All praise and appreciation for the Vikings by Sam Darnold

Drafted by the New York Jets back in the 2018 NFL draft, Sam Darnold’s stint with the New York team was anything but smooth. Things were worse for the quarterback in New York. I mean, who can forget the time when the guy legit claimed “I’m seeing ghosts,” when the Jets were down 24-0 against the New England Patriots in 2019. That’s how his brief stint with the Jets turned out.

But bouncing from Carolina for a couple of years to San Francisco for a single season, Darnold managed to get his breakout season with the Vikings in 2024. Now? Although he left Minnesota, he has nothing but praise and appreciation for his former organization. “It was just a special team to be a part of,” Darnold said on The Rich Eisen Show.

“Even from the beginning, you know, people not necessarily thinking we’re gonna be a great team, and for us to just be able to [win 14 games]. Like I continue to mention, we took it one day at a time, and that was really the theme of the last year, and that’s kind of been my theme throughout my entire journey.” Excluding the final couple of games of his 2024 season, Darnold recorded the best season of his career.

The result? Well, Minnesota didn’t retain him, no doubt. But his performance with the Vikings led him to sign a three-year, $100.5 million contract with the Seahawks, replacing Geno Smith as the starting QB of Seattle. With the Seahawks, Darnold hopes to replicate his 2024 season heroics.