LOS ANGELES — Cromwell Field on the campus of USC was littered with NFL coaches and front-office personnel on Wednesday.
Jets coach Todd Bowles stood in one corner of the end zone chatting with Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie. Giants coach Pat Shurmur was all over the field shaking hands with old friends. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam watched from the stands. Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan had his trusty Starbucks cup as he focused his eyes on Sam Darnold — the player they all came to see — warming up.
The USC quarterback took the field on a rare rainy day in Southern California for his Pro Day. After not throwing at the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this month, this was Darnold’s chance to show what he can do.
He aced the test.
Darnold put on an impressive display, throwing about 60 passes and showcasing his ability to throw on the run, make deep throws and play in the rain. About a quarter of the way through his workout, the rain came down hard.
A few days earlier, when the forecast showed rain, USC planned on changing the schedule so Darnold could throw before the rain hit. He said no, he wanted to throw in the wet stuff.
“I think it was a perfect opportunity to be able to throw in the rain and show these teams that I can throw in the rain,” Darnold said afterward. “I thought I did pretty well. Now it’s up to what they think and see who picks me.”
After watching him perform up close Wednesday, I would be shocked if Darnold is not the No. 1 overall pick by the Browns. He is simply the cleanest prospect of the big four quarterbacks. He led the Trojans to a 20-4 record in two years as a starter. He can make every throw and has the temperament of a franchise quarterback. Yes, he had 22 turnovers in 2017, but a coach will believe they can coach that out of him.
All you had to do was look at Haslam, the Browns owner, sitting in the stands with Darnold’s parents, to get the feeling this is as close as the Jets and Giants are ever going to get to Darnold.
The Giants brass took Darnold to dinner Monday, followed by the Browns on Tuesday. Shurmur, VP of player evaluation Chris Mara, assistant GM Kevin Abrams and offensive coordinator Mike Shula led the Giants contingent here.
The Jets had Maccagnan, Bowles, offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates, VP of player personnel Brian Heimerdinger and director of college scouting Matt Bazirgan on hand.
They watched Darnold confirm what everyone around the NFL has believed since last year: He is the real deal. NFL legend Troy Aikman marveled at how unfazed Darnold was by the rain. Former Jets wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson and quarterback Mark Sanchez, both USC alums, watched Darnold zip the ball 60 yards through the downpour.
A look around the field showed a who’s who of the NFL with GMs John Schneider, Steve Keim, John Dorsey and McKenzie joining Maccagnan and head coaches Mike Vrabel, Hue Jackson and Anthony Lynn to go along with Bowles and Shurmur.
Former NFL quarterback Jordan Palmer is Darnold’s private quarterback coach. Palmer said teams barely got to know Darnold at the Scouting Combine, where interviews are limited to 15 minutes. Now, he is ready to take visits (you can bet the Giants and Jets will be on that list), and Palmer predicts teams will fall in love.
“Sam is not the kid that you speed date. He’s the kid that you marry,” Palmer said. “As he goes through this process and gets to spend a bunch of time with Cleveland and some of these other teams, it’s very predictable for people like myself that are in his circle, that people will fall in love the more they get to know him.”
If, for some reason, the Browns pass on Darnold, he likely will wind up in New York with one of the two teams picking at 2 and 3.
“It would be awesome,” Darnold said of playing in New York. “I just want to go wherever I’m wanted. Whoever wants to pick me up, I’ll be happy to play there.”
Something tells me the fans of that team will be plenty happy, too.