Sam Darnold's resurrection can serve as an example for weakening rookie quarterbacks

Things may not look good at the moment, but there is hope for a successful future.

This is what the three rookie quarterbacks drafted in the first round – Chicago's Caleb Williams, Washington's Jayden Daniels and Denver's Bo Nix – must understand as they go through their predictable difficulties.

And so is Bryce Young, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, who was benched by the Panthers this week after making just 18 NFL starts and posting a 2-16 record.

The league is rife with quarterbacks who were selected in the first round and immediately thrust into the starting lineup before they were ready, and Young is the latest victim who may have been given up before he even should have been in the starting lineup.

When will NFL teams learn?

Yes, it's still early, the league is only in the third week of the season, but Williams, Daniels and Nix have combined to throw 196 passes without a single touchdown and have six interceptions.

Young had a 55.4 percent completion rate and just 245 passing yards in his two games, with no touchdowns and three interceptions.

It is difficult to predict what will become of these once sought-after talents. Some never recover from the blow of fate. Others eventually find their way and reach at least part of their potential.

Three of the Jets quarterbacks are compelling examples.

Sam Darnold, drafted third overall in 2018 and immediately thrown into the starting lineup of a dysfunctional franchise, is on his third team and seems to have finally found a home in Minnesota. After two games, he is on pace to be the Comeback Player of the Year after leading the Vikings to two wins.

Geno Smith, another former Jet, began writing the script for his professional rebirth in Seattle a few years ago when he replaced Russell Wilson. Once a sulky grouch in the Jets' locker room, Smith has been a winner since taking over in Seattle, which is 2-0 this season.

Zach Wilson, selected second in the first round of the 2021 draft by the Jets and immediately thrust into the starting lineup, has been a categorical failure and is currently clinging to his career as the third man in Denver.

These young quarterbacks have to be determined to hang on, and they also have to have the right combination to finally make it happen. Darnold and Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell seem to be a good fit. And having star receiver Justin Jefferson as a setter doesn't hurt either.

“It's great to have a coach and a team that believes in you,” Darnold recently said of O'Connell.

“We believe we can have a lot of success in our offense with the players around Sam,” O'Connell told reporters this week.

Darnold's former coach in San Francisco, Kyle Shanahan, agreed that the Vikings would be a good fit for him.

“I thought it was a really good spot for him and I was happy for him,” Shanahan told reporters. “He got this opportunity because Sam more than deserves it. Sam is a starting quarterback in this league and he should take advantage of it.”

So far he has done so.

For the sake of the newbies starting now, and for Young's sake, let's hope they don't have to go to their fourth team to find a home.

“Being a quarterback is tough, especially for young players, when you're not surrounded by the right players and you don't have a chance to succeed,” Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield, a former first-round pick, told reporters this week. “A lot of times guys have the talent, they may have the brains, but they don't have the right opportunity, the right fit.”

“I'm sitting here right now and I'm in a better position than I've been in any other place. That's not to put down other teams. It's about the people around you, the coaches and Bryce – a guy I can identify with – if he finds the belief in himself again, he'll make it.

“His story is far from over.”