What Does Sam Darnold Need to Do to Hold off J.J. McCarthy?

The Minnesota Vikings rebuilt their quarterback room this offseason after Kirk Cousins decided to sign with the Atlanta Falcons. This rebuilt room consisted of two new players, J.J. McCarthy and Sam Darnold. No matter the outcome of the 2024 season, McCarthy is the future, but an extended run of Darnold while the rookie gets time to learn and get better may not be the worst option.

The former No. 3 pick in the NFL draft has struggled to find a permanent starting job in the NFL, and by signing with the Vikings, this will be Darnold’s fourth new team in five years. While he’s struggled to maintain a consistent streak of good football, he’s shown flashes of why he was drafted so high, and why he keeps getting contracts in the league. A major reason for his inconsistencies at the NFL level is the talent he’s been surrounded with during his career.

What Does Sam Darnold Need to Do to Hold off J.J. McCarthy?

Before the Vikings

Starting in New York with the Jets, his rookie year saw him throwing to receivers Robbie Anderson (now Robbie Chosen) and Quincy Enunwa, with a rookie Chris Herndon at tight end. In 2019 the Jets made many changes. They fired Todd Bowles, hired Adam Gase, and signed Le’Veon Bell, Jamison Crowder and Demaryius Thomas. While those names weren’t the flashiest at this point, it was an improvement to what they had, and Darnold’s numbers improved because of it. The next year the Jets fell apart and went 2-14 and Darnold was traded for a second-round pick, which is important to know because even with the struggles in New York there was still a market for him, and that market was with the Carolina Panthers. The struggles continued, with Darnold and the offense as a whole showing inconsistency with Darnold at the helm. He only started 12 games that year due to the streaky performances, and would sign with the San Francisco 49ers to backup Brock Purdy the next year.

Sam Darnold- The Good

What Sam Darnold does well is create with his legs and his eyes, he’s aggressive (sometimes to a fault) but he’s always looking to push the ball down the field and make big plays. He has a lot of arm talent, that term is thrown around a lot, but what I mean by arm talent is the ability to make strong and accurate throws from off-balance platforms and from far away. If he can find the balance of reigning in the home-run throws and play in a more structured offense, with a much better supporting cast in Minnesota, he can succeed. He reunites with Josh McCown, a teammate of Darnold’s with the Jets, their familiarity can only help. Spending a year with Kyle Shanahan and sitting for 17 games doesn’t hurt either.