Aug 12, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; A view of a Minnesota Vikings helmet at Paul Brown Stadium. The Vikings won 17-16. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports.
The Minnesota Vikings signed Sam Darnold as a “patchover quarterback” in March for a rookie quarterback to be named later. Or at least that was the working theory.
Minnesota later drafted J.J. McCarthy from Michigan, and it seemed the bridge quarterback plan was in motion. Now, however, with the Vikings at 6-2 and in firm control to reach the postseason, Darnold isn’t just a temporary solution by conventional standards — he’s the most surprising player in the business, according to NFL.com.
Jeffri Chadiah outlined “midseason superlatives” this week and named Darnold the league’s biggest surprise. “This has been one of the best stories in the NFL this season. There was no buzz when the Vikings signed Darnold to a one-year, $10 million deal in March. He’d become a journeyman quarterback, one who went from being a top-three pick of the Jets in 2018 to a player who couldn’t keep a job in Carolina and eventually became a backup in San Francisco,” he wrote.
Darnold ranks eighth in the NFL per EPA+CPOE among all qualifying quarterbacks, an efficiency metric measuring expected wins added.
Chadiah continued, “At best, he was supposed to help rookie J.J. McCarthy get acclimated to the league and then move on down the road. Nobody saw Darnold leading the Vikings to a 5-0 start. The same is true when you think about him ranking among the top five in the league in passer rating (107.8). Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah deserves credit for pursuing Darnold as an option, while head coach Kevin O’Connell has done a fine job of coaching him up.”
“But make no mistake: This doesn’t happen if Darnold doesn’t come in and prove he has the ability to do some of the things people projected upon him when he was a younger hotshot prospect”
Here’s Darnold current stat line scaled to a 17-game season:
“Darnold is a testament to what can happen when you give a talented player a strong supporting cast and reliable coaching. The Vikings, now 6-2 after Sunday night’s win over Indianapolis, are a serious playoff contender because of that,” Chadiah concluded.
The veteran quarterback also ranks eighth in MVP odds (+2000), sharing moneyline space with Kyler Murray (QB, Arizona Cardinals) and Derrick Henry (RB, Baltimore Ravens).
In fact, Darnold has played so well that some onlookers have wondered if he’ll be a QB1 option for the Vikings next year despite the aforementioned McCarthy’s presence on the roster. Stay tuned.
Darnold’s Vikings next take on the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road this weekend and are favored to win by four points.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.