ESPN – Given an out, USC quarterback Sam Darnold declined to move up his throwing session at his school’s pro day on Wednesday, choosing instead to throw under a steady rain in front of a throng of NFL decision-makers. “I don’t think it would have been fair to change the schedule with all of the other guys training for the pro day,” Darnold said. “So I just wanted my guys to be comfortable — my teammates — that was first and foremost. “But I also think it was a perfect opportunity to be able to throw in the rain and show these guys I could throw in the rain.”

Look I get it, Darnold has played in sunny and perfect Southern California for the past couple of years so he wants to show the scouts he’s not soft. But this is EXACTLY how the Buffalo Bills became infatuated with that bum EJ Manuel.

I remember it like it was yesterday. Scouts were going nuts because Manuel could grip it and rip it while water was falling from the sky, which is as we know a huge indicator of NFL success.

“Manuel set himself apart from other prospects after impressing coaches when he threw well during a thunderstorm at a private workout with the Bills’ brass in Tallahassee, Fla.”

The Bills play in Orchard Park, NY which is basically a hellhole with winters that would rival Winterfell. So the Bills saw a guy that could play in conditions less than 70 and sunny and thought, HAVE TO HAVE IT. Discounting the fact that he was highly mediocre at Florida State, but hey if he can throw in the rain at a Pro Day then he must be the next Montana.

Welp, in Buffalo he ended up throwing for 3500 yards and 19 TDs in the air with another 320 yards and 4 TDs on the ground…in 4 years.

Let this be a cautionary tale to the NFL scouts with a Top 5 pick in this year’s draft. Select Sam Darnold because you like his body of work, because you think he’s intelligent, hell do it because you think he’s less likely to get arrested than Baker Mayfield. But don’t be the Buffalo Bills and draft a guy because he can throw a tight spiral in a shower.