Mark Sanchez's Advice to Jets Draft Pick Sam Darnold: Football Is No. 1 Priority

NFL free agent and former New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez had some words of wisdom for Sam Darnold, the Jets' first-round selection with the No. 3 overall pick. 

"You've got to have the mentality that football is your No. 1 priority," Sanchez told Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post. "There's nothing wrong with getting involved in the city and getting involved in the community and embracing New York and having fun and using all those resources to get your teammates together. But they’ve got to know that football’s your No. 1 (priority) and you're working your butt off."

Sanchez also reached out to Darnold and his family:

"I told his parents, 'You guys have got to be his rock. After his big games and after the crappy ones, you guys have got to be there and strong for him, because New York is going to demand a lot from him—emotionally, physically, all that.' I told them, 'I guarantee he will get booed.' It's different than college. It's a different atmosphere. It's a different experience. I told Sam, 'You’re going to love it, but understand that your life’s going to change.'"

If anybody can understand what Darnold is about to face, it's Sanchez. The fellow USC alum was the Jets' No. 5 overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft, spending his first four NFL seasons in New York. The Jets will be hoping Darnold's career arc is different from Sanchez, however.

While the veteran quarterback reached the AFC Championship Game in each of his first two seasons with the Jets, that was largely on the back of Rex Ryan's defense. For his career, Sanchez has thrown for 15,219 yards, 86 touchdowns and 86 interceptions, completing just 56.7 percent of his passes, appearing in games for the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys after being cut by the Jets after the 2012 season. 

He didn't appear in a game in 2017 and is facing a four-game suspension in 2018 after testing positive for a banned substance.

In Darnold, the Jets are hoping they've found a face of the franchise and a true difference-maker at the quarterback position. Sanchez has liked what he's seen.

"He moves well in the pocket, he throws a great ball, he has that clutch ability, that X-factor, that moxie that everybody talks about," he noted. "He's a different kind of leader (than me). He's very stoic, he's not super emotional, so maybe that will bode well for him."

"Sam's got everything you want," he added. "But that doesn't always mean it works out in the NFL. There are hundreds of quarterbacks that haven’t worked out or only have had marginal success."