If there is one player who can relate to Sam Darnold's roller coaster NFL career, it's former 49ers quarterback Alex Smith.
Smith joined NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco on the latest episode of "49ers Talk" from the American Century Championship golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe Resort, where he discussed San Francisco's new veteran quarterback and why he sees similarities between himself and Darnold.
"To add a guy like Sam Darnold, I see some similarities to what I went through as a young guy," Smith said. "He's bounced around a little bit, but he's had a ton of coaching change. He's never really had a great cast, he's carried a lot of weight as a young player, you try to do too much.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"He's an incredibly talented kid and now you go into a system where you just got to be the point guard for the 49ers, just run the offense. [If they say] throw the check down to Christian McCaffrey, throw the check down. That's a pretty good option. Throw the dump to [George] Kittle and everything in between. There's just so many weapons and I think for the first time he's not going to feel that pressure that he's got to do too much, he can just go operate."
The 49ers signed Darnold to a one-year, $4.5 million contract in free agency, adding depth to a position that hamstrung San Francisco throughout the regular and postseason.
Darnold and Smith both were top NFL draft picks, with Darnold being selected third overall by the New York Jets in 2018 while Smith was taken first overall by the 49ers in 2005. If there's one player who understands the pressure Darnold went through early on in his career, it's Smith.
RELATED: Gould wanted to re-sign with 49ers; contract offer never came
San Francisco 49ers
After a tumultuous first few seasons with the 49ers, Smith eventually found success with San Francisco before a trade to the Kansas City Chiefs before the 2013 season. Smith then was traded to Washington, where he suffered a life-threatening leg injury and infection before returning to the field two years later -- where he won the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year Award in 2020.
Smith has total faith that Darnold's fortunes could turn if he were to be thrust into a starting role on a loaded 49ers team.