Aug 2, 2024; Eagan, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) warms up during practice at Vikings training camp in Eagan, MN. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports.
Training camp has reached Week 3, which means players’ legs are getting tired, and the preseason opener is coming up.
The Vikings were practicing in full pads on Tuesday, the day the team released its first depth chart of the 2024 season. It comes as no surprise that Sam Darnold is listed as the starting quarterback, with J.J. McCarthy or Nick Mullens in the backup spot, followed by Jaren Hall as the fourth quarterback.
At his media session on Tuesday, Coach Kevin O’Connell was asked who he plans to start in Saturday afternoon’s preseason opener at U.S. Bank Stadium against the Raiders. He said he had a general plan but was not ready to reveal it publicly until he informed the players. O’Connell added that he will tell the media on Thursday.
It’s going to be very interesting to see how he utilizes the four quarterbacks in the three preseason games, especially since the Vikings have two days of joint practices with the Browns in Cleveland next Wednesday and Thursday, the week before their preseason game on August 17.
I know from experience how tricky it is for coaches in meaningless preseason games. They’d especially like to get some game action for the younger players. But O’Connell doesn’t want to expose his best and most important players, such as Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Aaron Jones, Christian Darrisaw, and Brian O’Neill on offense (not an issue with T.J. Hockenson, who is still in the final stages of ACL rehab) and Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Harrison Phillips, Ivan Pace, Blake Cashman, Byron Murphy and Harrison Smith on defense.
Again, this makes it tricky. Does O’Connell want to play his top two QBs—Darnold and McCarthy—in a game that doesn’t count on the standings without the team’s top two wide receivers, the starting running back, and their highly paid offensive tackles who both have missed games with injuries in recent seasons (and without Hockenson)? That’s a dangerous proposition, especially if the Raiders decide to play Pro Bowl DE Maxx Crosby and their excellent DT (and big free agent signee) Christian Wilkins.
Raiders Coach Antonio Pierce already announced that his two QBs competing for the starting job—Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell—will play “a legit quarter,” but I’d be surprised if star receiver Davante Adams hits the field except in warmups.
I’m guessing all four Vikings quarterbacks will play in this home game, with one series for Darnold as he continues to master the offense (and he’ll be told to get rid of the ball quickly), a couple of series for McCarthy to get his rookie feet wet, and then Mullens and Hall will go the rest of the way. But definitely no Jefferson or Jones and probably no Addison in any preseason games.
I wouldn’t risk playing O’Neill or Darrisaw, but they might play a series or two with the rest of the starting O-line. We’ll see what happens on defense, but several starters will surely be held out.
Then, after the starters participate in the two joint practices in Cleveland, O’Connell will almost certainly play only the backups in the game that Saturday.
It again proves that preseason games have become even more meaningless, except for the last few roster spots. That’s why we’ll soon be down to two preseason games and 18 regular season games, and perhaps no preseason games a few years down the road, with more joint practices replacing them. The season ticket holders surely will appreciate not paying for preseason games when the stars rarely, if ever, play.
Other Training Camp Observations:
1. The Vikings’ defense dominated in Tuesday’s early portion of full-padded team drills. Then Darnold hit Addison on a TD bomb, McCarthy made a couple of nice completions, and Jalen Nailor got open on an intermediate route for a completion. The talented Nailor will be the third wide receiver if he can stay healthy.
Aaron Jones looks great in camp. He’s so explosive and showed it on an off-tackle burst in 11-on11. He’s also been a big part of the passing game with his dual-threat ability. He’s now 29 years old, but it looks like he hasn’t lost a step, and the 2020 Pro Bowler is an upgrade over the departed Alexander Mattison as the starting running back.
He had five straight 100-yard rushing games for the Packers late last season and was a big part of the team’s success down the stretch. Jones just needs to stay healthy (he missed six games last season with a hamstring injury). Also, the speedy Ty Chandler is a fine No. 2 back, with Kene Nwangwu adding depth and his excellent kickoff return ability.
2. There is a lot of experimenting going on at the suspect cornerback position. Second-year safety Jay Ward played outside corner on several snaps in practice.
3. It was interesting to hear DC Brian Flores talk about seventh-round DT Levi Drake Rodriguez (who took some first-team reps when starter Jonathan Bullard got a vet’s day off) and two undrafted free agents who have caught his eye in camp—OLB Gabriel Murphy and CB Dwight McGlothern.
“I think he’s done a lot of good things,” Flores said of Rodriguez. “I think he’s picked up the playbook quickly. I think he’s full of energy. I think he’s got some athletic ability. It’s early, but we’re trying to put him in as many situations as possible to see what roles might fit him best.”
Flores said Murphy “has done a lot of good things, too.” He likes McGlothern’s height, at 6-2, his length, speed, and instincts.
I love to hear of late-round picks and undrafted players who make it, and it happens every year (Pace was the prime example last year as he wound up starting and making the All-Rookie team at inside linebacker). Back in my GM days, I signed John Randle as an undrafted free agent, and he wound up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame after his tremendous career at DT.
Around the NFL Observations:
The battles around the league for the starting quarterback will be decided in the next couple of weeks. Six teams have not announced their starters for the regular season opener: the Vikings, Raiders, Patriots, Broncos, Steelers, and Commanders.
We’ve already discussed the Vikings situation, where I see Darnold as the opening-day starter and McCarthy stepping in around mid-season. We’ll get a close-up look at the Raiders QB competition in Saturday’s preseason game, and I think the more experienced Minshew will emerge as the starter, but it’s a close call. Minshew performed better in a recent team scrimmage.
Vet Jacoby Brissett has taken most of the first-team reps and should be the Patriots’ opening-day starter, but third-round pick Drake Maye is likely to overtake him early in the season. In Denver, it appears Coach Sean Payton is leaning towards first-round pick Bo Nix over vet backup Jarrett Stidham.
Russell Wilson’s camp calf injury has limited him and enabled Justin Fields to get most of the first-team reps. Coach Mike Tomlin indicated that it was still Wilson’s job, but Fields had an excellent training camp and had plenty of ability as a passer and runner. The future Hall of Famer Wilson (based on his great career in Seattle) is expected to return to practice as QB1 next week, but he’ll be on a short leash after three straight losing seasons, and Fields will be ready to step in if Wilson struggles or gets hurt again.
There’s little drama in Washington. No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels tops the depth chart and will start the preseason opener this weekend, but Coach Dan Quinn has not yet named him the opening-day starter. That will happen soon, with vet Marcus Mariota backing up Daniels, who was last year’s Heisman Trophy winner when he led the FBS in total yards.
Jeff Diamond is a former Vikings GM, former Tennessee Titans President and was selected NFL Executive of the Year after the Vikings’ 15-1 season in 1998. He now works for the NFL agent group IFA based in Minneapolis and does other sports consulting and media work along with college/corporate speaking. Follow him and direct message him on Twitter– @jeffdiamondnfl.