For the first time in years, the Minnesota Vikings are Kirk Cousins-less. This is the most uncertainty the quarterback position has faced since Cousins was signed and yet there’s still an excellent foundation. With four quarterbacks on the roster, three of them playing important games in the NFL and one coming off a national title run, the Vikings have a lot of solid options to choose from, something a lot of teams in the league can’t say.
Vikings Training Camp Preview-Quarterbacks
Sam Darnold
Coming off a year where he played only one game, Sam Darnold was able to sit behind Brock Purdy, as well as learn from offensive genius Kyle Shanahan and quarterback coach Brian Griese. Darnold has struggled to find a home in the NFL since being drafted third overall by the Jets in 2018 but joins a roster with the best offensive weapons he’s ever played with. In all likelihood, Darnold will be the week one starter in New York and much beyond. He’s the most proven starting-caliber quarterback with years of playing experience. At his best, he’s a play-extending and rocket-armed quarterback who can make plays. At his worst, he’s a turnover-prone disaster that loses games with his recklessness.
The hope is that Kevin O’Connell can tap into that talent that got him drafted so highly and that surrounding him with dynamic receivers and vertical, field-pushing tight ends can unlock that talent, but it’s yet to be done up to this point. The expectations are low for Darnold, but at minimum, a success for him would be to hold down the job well enough to the point J.J. McCarthy can sit and wait until he’s ready to play, whenever that may be. Winning isn’t the goal for this season and shouldn’t be reflected on Darnold as an expectation, being a capable quarterback who can spread the ball around and lead the offense consistently and use his talent to be aggressive but not stupid. If he does that, he’ll be exactly what Minnesota was looking for in a bridge quarterback.
Holding on the play negates a terrific throw by Sam Darnold but doesn’t matter… Sam put it on film to beat the blitz. Great job Darnold! pic.twitter.com/SE1NuMWkVT
— Eric Crocker 🥷🏾 (@Crocky209) August 20, 2023
J.J. McCarthy
As a 21-year-old quarterback, J.J McCarthy was viewed in the pre-draft process as a talented quarterback who was athletic and had a lively arm but needed to develop the mechanics and footwork before being thrown out as a starting quarterback. Only a handful of quarterbacks have started at 21, with most being first-overall picks. (The youngest week one starter ever is Sam Darnold, which is very telling!) The spot he was drafted and who the Vikings have on the roster tells the same story, McCarthy won’t see the field until he’s absolutely, positively ready.
Vikings beat reporters have noted the talent he’s shown early in the offseason, what he’ll have to focus on to see playing time is the smaller things and being able to routinely do them as second nature on every play. If Darnold plays well and the Vikings are winning, or even average and competitive in every game, McCarthy will ride the pine. If Darnold struggles early and a lot, they’ll look for every reason to throw McCarthy out there, which could turn into a disaster fast.
McCarthy won’t play for weeks into the season, and that’s a best-case scenario. While Vikings fans are excited to have a first-round quarterback for the first time since Teddy Bridgewater in 2015, there needs to be tempered expectations. Hopefully, McCarthy plays in the preseason since he’s not a projected starter, and we get to see where he’s at during training camp, but otherwise, the expectation should be that this is a redshirt year until he’s ready and better than Darnold.
Five minutes of J.J. McCarthy highlights to get ready for his Pro Day tomorrow 〽️ pic.twitter.com/L68zgp0fBM
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) March 21, 2024
Nick Mullens
Everyone saw what Nick Mullens was when Dobbs-mania ended, and the Vikings went plummeting to reality. Mullens threw for 1,306 yards, seven touchdowns, and eight interceptions. The stats are rough, but Mullens deserves major credit for keeping the team in games against good teams. Calling him aggressive does him a disservice, he will air the ball out and into double coverage under any circumstances, a gunslinger in its truest meaning. That’s a problem if you look at those interception numbers again because his aggressiveness turned into recklessness too often.
There’s a real possibility he’s the backup to Darnold on the depth chart going into the season, he’s proven he is a backup-quality quarterback in the league and the Vikings may see him as a more viable option to win if Darnold goes down early and McCarthy isn’t ready. He’s also a cut/trade candidate if the younger guys prove they can play, Mullens may be the odd man out. We’ve seen what Mullens is, and his fate may be decided by the last guy in the quarterback room who could play him out of Minnesota.
Jaren Hall
Jaren Hall got his first career start in week nine in Atlanta after Cousins tore his Achilles and Mullens was on the IR with a back injury. He was knocked out of the game with a concussion after a promising first quarter. He was then put in for a do-or-die game against Green Bay in which he was benched at halftime. This all happened in a season where he was supposed to never see the field, he ended up in multiple high-leverage situations that ended poorly one way or another. A day three pick, Hall was drafted in hopes of being a quality backup, and that process shouldn’t change this training camp.
While he struggled in the games he played, he got valuable experience and an important mark of his progression will be to see how he improved on the areas he struggled in when he played. If he has a good preseason, the best-case scenario is he backs up Darnold. He’s the most likely to be cut since his contract has minimal guarantees and is easy to get out of, but with a good preseason, he can make the team. If he gets cut, he almost certainly will get picked up elsewhere.
What a beautiful throw from Jaren Hall! pic.twitter.com/e98OE07mUQ
— vikesinsider (@vikesinsider) August 26, 2023
Main Image: Lon Horwedel – USA Today Sports
