The journeyman quarterback will never have a better opportunity to rewrite his history in the NFL than with the 2024 Vikings.
EAGAN — By now you have been made aware of Sam Darnold’s rough road to get here. Wildly inconsistent play, bad numbers, struggling organizations, poor supporting casts and all that jazz. But you might not fully realize just how big the obstacles were in his previous stops.
Then it all came crashing down. Behind an O-line ranked 31st by PFF, receivers ranked 30th and the 25th graded running game, Darnold won two of 12 starts in 2020. Another interesting nugget from Darnold’s numbers. In 820 passes when tied or winning his career QB rating is a solid 93.2. In 991 passes when losing his rating is a miserable 66.0. The league rating when tied or winning: 93.7 The league rating when losing: 84.4.
Edholm recalled a game against UCLA late in the season in which Darnold’s overall performance was not memorable but he made one spectacular throw that confirmed all beliefs about his high-end prospect status. “He had that gamer to him,” Bullock said via Zoom. “Third downs or key drives overtime, those were situations where they seemed to get the best out of him. He would step up and make the big play. He could make pinpoint accurate throws and layer the ball over the first level of coverage and hit tight windows. There was big upside there.”
“He kept turning the ball over every game and it was a really frustrating part but we all just felt like the draft flu caught all of us and we were making excuses like, ‘Well, the physical tools are all there,’ because they were,” Edholm said. “Looking back I definitely talked myself into him way more than I should have.”
So we understand why Darnold was a top prospect and how his shortcomings in college translated as much as his strengths. But do any of our draft experts think that it will be different in Minnesota? None of our analysts are giving up because they have seen turnarounds before. Edholm commented that he certainly thought Geno Smith was done as a starter until he landed in the right spot at age 31.
We only have a sample of the first preseason appearance but Darnold’s lone drive looked very comfortable.“The dagger cut on third-and-10… is not even near his transition on the top of the route, and that ball's out on five and one hitch, the ability to layer it….that throw was really impressive,” O’Connell said.
“Sam seemed to handle it like a veteran and just talking to the guys in the huddle, just the way he maintained his poise,” O’Connell said. Cousins’ numbers changed but they didn’t exactly get better. Under O’Connell he averaged 275 yards per game at 7.2 yards per attempt with a 96.2 QB rating. From 2019-2021, the Kubiak years, he averaged 257 yards per game at 7.9 YPA and posted a 105.0 rating.
Under KOC, Cousins had 10 wins in 16 games with more than 35 passes and only had three total games between 2022 and 2023 with fewer than 30 throws.Whether O’Connell’s system makes life easier isn’t easy to pin down statistically. Per NFLNextGen stats, the 49ers’ Brock Purdy had the highest Expected Completion Percentage in 2022 based on how open the receivers were based the location of defenders at 69.8%.
“When Coach O 'Connell calls a play, being able to know exactly kind of what he's thinking with that play,” Darnold said. “And if we get a certain coverage where he wants me to go at the football and all that. It's understanding the play caller's intent when he calls a play and going and making that play come to life.”
“It’s been a process at which his ownership of the offense has gotten to a really good place already,” O’Connell said. “I think it's just his comfort in how we've built the atmosphere for all of our quarterbacks.”During the first day of joint practices, the Cleveland Browns defense was causing some problems for the Minnesota Vikings’ offensive line, pressuring Sam Darnold consistently.
“Garrett and the entire offensive line has been huge for me being able to learn all that stuff quickly,” Darnold said. “For him…to turn around and say what the front is or what we got and me being able to make a certain call at the line of scrimmage, it definitely helps.” As much as the blocking will impact Darnold’s success, there’s a guy on the Vikings’ roster like nobody else he has ever had on his side: Justin Jefferson.
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