Questions Answered: Bringing Back Sam Darnold, The Draft, Now What?
The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the January 14th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].
Questions Answered: Bringing Back Sam Darnold, The Draft, Now What?
Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.
Q: Do you think the Vikings will bring Sam Darnold back after that stupid performance?
Answer: Probably not.
We believe that some quarterback-hungry team will give Darnold a contract for two years and $40 million (with $30 million or so guaranteed), where he will fulfill another bridge quarterback assignment.
This may be the classic current Vikings example of Kevin O’Connell going to bat for Darnold, with general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah putting his foot down and pointing at J.J. McCarthy as O’Connell’s hand-picked solution, thus saying no to Darnold in 2025.
Think of it this way: Suggest, for the sake of argument, that the Vikings re-sign Darnold. Great — he will perform marvelously at training camp, the preseason, and the regular season. He proved in New York, Carolina, San Francisco, and Minnesota that he could look the part in the summer. Well, if he replicated his 2024 regular season in Minnesota during the 2025 campaign, everyone would have to wait a full year, waiting on pins and needles to see if he collapses again in the playoffs.
No thanks. Absolutely no thanks. Give us McCarthy, and we shall sink or swim.
Q: What position will Minnesota target in Round 1 of the draft?
Answer: CB, iDL, or iOL.
We’ll predict cornerback early in the offseason because, as it stands, Mekhi Blackmon, Dwight McGlothern, and NaJee Thompson are the only corners on the books for next season.
The Vikings haven’t employed an impact, pass-rushing defensive tackle since Kevin Williams … 11 years ago. Give us one of those, please.
And then the interior offensive line crumbled in the season’s final two games.
Minnesota has a few roster needs, but cornerback is arguably the most vital.
Q: Can the Vikings be Super Bowl contenders next year after 14 wins this year?
Answer: Probably not.
Everything about Vikings football changed last August when J.J. McCarthy tore his meniscus. That delayed the entire plan by one year.
For a 2025 outlook, folks must hope that McCarthy blossoms into a promising second-year quarterback, and then 2026, 2027, and 2028 can be the Super Bowl window, at least realistically.
At the moment, the whole enterprise revolves around McCarthy and his potential. Everything else is secondary.
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 MIN 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.
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