Sam Darnold was closing in on 7 years old when Eli Manning became a New York Giant.
Darnold was 10 when Manning won Super Bowl XLII.
Darnold was 14 when Manning won Super Bowl XLVI.
Darnold, now 21 and quarterback of the Jets, and Manning, 37 and still quarterback of the Giants, meet on Friday night at MetLife Stadium.
Boy versus Mann.
Our Jets fan base would prefer Wonder Boy versus Old Mann.
Our Giants fan base would prefer Boy versus SuperMann.
If the Giants loved Darnold as much as they loved Saquon Barkley, he might be standing next to Davis Webb on the visiting sidelines for the MetLife Bowl watching Manning start this game.
But they didn’t.
So he isn’t.
And the Jets are euphoric they didn’t.
Dave Gettleman’s Giants had more of a conviction on Barkley becoming a gold jacket guy than they did on Darnold.
And Mike Maccagnan’s Jets are euphoric they did.
Gettleman emphatically told us he didn’t care that by passing on Darnold, he would wind up with the Jets.
And the Jets are glad Gettleman didn’t care.
It will probably take a decade before a final verdict will be in.
But the Jets and their long-suffering fans, who have been desperate for someone, anyone to play like Joe Namath, can’t wait for the trial to begin.
“I feel like he’s a star in the making,” Buster Skrine told The Post.
And what better way for Darnold to ascend to the Jets’ throne than by staring down Manning and the Giants and announcing himself as King For a Day?
“Super mature, can make every throw, smart. A lot of times you can fool rookies … snap of the ball he knows what coverage you’re in,” Skrine said. “And that’s hard to find for a rookie quarterback.”
Asked what kind of a leader Darnold is, Skrine said: “First thing I noticed about him, I come pretty early, and he was already here sitting at his locker looking at his playbooks — it was around like 6 o’clock in the morning.
“And then he comes on the field, he throws a pick, he comes right back and throws a touchdown. So you know that confidence is there.”
Over the course of the next 3-5 years, Darnold will be measured against Barkley, Manning and perhaps Davis Webb or Kyle Lauletta.
The irony is that Darnold will not have a special talent this season like Barkley to help him. Manning will.
Barkley is likely to rest his hamstring against the Jets, but paired with Odell Beckham Jr. when the regular season begins, he will give Manning the kind of elite weapons that would make the life of any quarterback, particularly a rookie quarterback, easier.
Manning and the Giants are in Win Now mode.
Darnold and the Jets will tell us they are as well, but it is really Win Tomorrow … beginning in 2019.
Easy Eli had the perfect temperament for New York right from the start.
Manning didn’t want San Diego.
He wanted New York.
Stoic Sam wanted whichever franchise wanted him. When he played at USC, Los Angeles didn’t faze him. New York won’t either.
“He’s a true professional … as a young man, he’s a true professional,” Skrine said.
Manning watched Kurt Warner for the first nine games of his rookie season, but Todd Bowles does not appear compelled to listen to the wary who are opposed to throwing a cub quarterback to the wolves.
“I think he’s a great quarterback, smart quarterback … and professional,” Quincy Enunwa said.
In what way?
“You just can kind of tell when he’s in the huddle, when he’s dropping back. … I guess when I say professional, it’s more so kind of he doesn’t look like a rookie,” Enunwa said. “Like when he’s in the pocket, he’s not rattled, he’s able to go through his progression if he needs to and roll out and still look down the field.”
What kind of ball does he throw?
“A good one,” Enunwa said. “He’s able to switch it up. When he first got here, it was a little firm, but I think it was just kind of him getting used to being out here.”
Darnold and Barkley both seem too good to be true, on the field and off. Just as Manning has been across the past 15 years. Manning has delivered two Super Bowl championships to the New York Football Giants. It has been 50 years since the Jets won one. Darnold — who was closing in on 14 years old when Manning’s first daughter, Ava, was born — gives the Jets and their long-suffering fans hope it won’t be another 50 years.
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