Vikings QB dreams thwarted with J.J. McCarthy injury, but don’t sleep on Sam Darnold
J.J. McCarthy gave Minnesota Vikings fans a little glimpse of the future with a stellar preseason debut, but as quickly as the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft injected excitement in the fanbase, a season-ending injury turned the franchise back to searching for another answer at quarterback in 2024.
Enter 2018 NFL Draft first round pick Sam Darnold. As they say, as one door closes, another door opens and for the former No. 3, there is no greater opportunity to revive his NFL career than with a Vikings team with loaded weapons around him.
Although Darnold would’ve still had a chance to be the Day 1 starter for the Vikings in the 2024 NFL season, McCarthy’s preseason performance displayed what Vikings coaches envisioned with drafting the Michigan product.
J.J. McCarthy hype ended just as it was starting, now it's Sam Darnold's turn
Within his performance, the coaching staff saw electricity within the offense even with Justin Jefferson watching on the sideline. In exciting the crowed by going 11-of-17 with 188 passing yards and 2 touchdowns, McCarthy showed accuracy and the field vision in a performance that at least gave him the lead in becoming the Vikings QB1 to start the season before the injury that occurred in the preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
A dream that was put to sleep when it was announced McCarthy would be out for the season following surgery to repair the right meniscus tear, now gives Darnold an opportunity to create a dream of his own. After a nightmare start in the NFL which saw the former first round pick seeing ghosts on the field, the USC product has a bigtime opportunity ahead of him. Can he follow the script of Baker Mayfield and find a revival with a team with offensive talent around him and a coach in Kevin O’Connell who will put him in the best position to be successful?
Only Darnold can steer that narrative. The talent is within his arm, but has his experience in the NFL finally lead to an awakening as an NFL starting quarterback? Short answer is that it looks good in practice. In speaking about Darnold’s ability to lead the Vikings’ offense, O’Connell sees good things.
“Our football team has been and will continue to be excited about Sam Darnold and what he’s been able to bring,” O’Connell said in his Wednesday press conference. “Great two days of work for him this week before we continue on with our preparations for the opener. And I can’t wait to see Sam not only these next two days, but continue to stack some really, really good days and showing ultra comfort in our offense. [He has] really been a bright spot to go along with what J.J. McCarthy had done early on in camp as well.”
O’Connell went on to praise Darnold’s ability to grasp the offense and lead from an Xs and Os standpoint, but the true test comes when the games matter.
Darnold won’t spark the same excitement as McCarthy, but that doesn’t mean he won’t find success as the man under center in Minnesota. The fact that he has NFL experience under his belt, the fact that he knows what ineffectiveness and failure in the league looks like, the fact that he has sat behind Brock Purdy for a year with the San Francisco 49ers, the fact that he has talent around him like Jefferson and Jordan Addison is all reasons no one can sleep on Darnold and his ability to thrive in 2024.
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It's really a nothing to lose approach for the now veteran quarterback who will not only be playing to keep the Vikings in the hunt for a playoff spot, but playing to show the NFL he is not a bust after all. Will Sam Darnold be this year’s Baker Mayfield? While anyone would be hesitant to bet on it, you better not sleep on it either.