Jets QB Sam Darnold Asks Adam Gase 'A Lot of Questions About Peyton Manning'

New York Jets head coach Adam Gase spent time with the Denver Broncos as Peyton Manning's offensive coordinator, and young quarterback Sam Darnold hasn't hesiated to pick his brain about the future Hall of Famer.

"He asks a lot of questions about Peyton [Manning], obviously," Gase told Albert Breer of SI.com.

He continued:

"He watches a lot of the old stuff—he's watched a lot of Peyton's stuff. He's watched almost all of our cut-ups. The good thing is we've got a pretty healthy library of examples... He's watched so much of it he can bring up certain plays from different seasons to where he'll ask a question—'Hey, what made him do this? Or why did he think this way?' He's really gone through a lot of this stuff already."

Darnold showed promise during his rookie season in 2018, throwing for 2,845 yards, 17 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 13 games, completing 57.7 percent of his passes.

While his stats weren't great, he also didn't have many playmakers to work with, though the offseason additions of players like running back Le'Veon Bell, wide receiver Jamison Crowder and offensive guard Kelechi Osemele should make life easier on the young quarterback.

There's little doubt that Darnold has natural ability, but Gase has been most impressed by the quarterback's work ethic.

"When you watch him just throw, anyone can watch him throw and go, 'That guy can throw the football.' I think the side that I didn't know as much, and I've seen it since I've been here, is how competitive he is as far as learning football. He wants to be as good as he can be. He wants to be a great player. And you can tell by his work ethic, that's what he wants to do. He's not just talking the talk."

Darnold picking Manning to model his game after is another good sign. And while Darnold hasn't had the chance to pick Manning's brain yet, Gase is hopeful he can set it up sometime down the line.

"If it ends up happening, that's great," he said. "Hopefully I can eventually. I just try not to bug Peyton too much. I feel like I've asked enough of him already throughout my career."