The 2024 Minnesota Vikings will be one fascinating team to watch, mainly because of quarterback Sam Darnold. He signed a one-year, $10 million contract to hopefully take a step forward in his career.
How good can Darnold be this season? Can he lead the Vikings to a playoff spot? With players like Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson flanking him, it's not out of the question.
Could Darnold be the next Geno Smith? Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer believes he could be and said as much on The Rich Eisen Show.
"I think the Vikings feel like he is a distressed asset and a guy who wasn't properly raised in the league and dealt with a lot of rocky waters. And, like, I guess there's almost like a Geno Smith quality to it too, you know, where it's like, man, this guy's had a chance now to take a minute and learn from his mistakes."
The Smith element to the conversation is a very interesting one. Quarterbacks are often cast aside after struggles early on in their careers without being allowed to learn and grow. Breer spoke to an assistant of Smith and he wondered how many others were out there.
"Geno, when we were, we were walking off the field at training camp, and this guy I've known for a while, and he said to me, he's like, you know, being around Geno makes me wonder how many more guys there are like this, like that have talent that were just mismanaged when they were young, that went through coaching changes, that had to switch teams, everything turned upside down. And then they got some time to sit and wait, and then they got in the right situation, and all of a sudden it was like, oh, you know, like, the reason he was drafted so high in the first place was was legitimate. It was just he wasn't in the right situation. There are very few young quarterbacks that I believe can overcome bad circumstances."
Could Darnold be the next guy? It's definitely possible, especially after the success and Smith and Baker Mayfield over the last two years. Having Darnold isn't just about resurrecting his career, but taking a patient approach with J.J. McCarthy.
"I think the better Sam plays, the better situation becomes for JJ McCarthy. You know, when reason where, if they think they can win with Sam Darnold, and I believe, right now, they think they can win with Sam Darnold, and Sam Darnold's going to get the first snap and training camp that's going to enable Kevin to enact, like, the entire plan that He has for JJ McCarthy, where JJ is going to have to hit these, these detailed markers along the way before they think about putting him out on the field."
The last quote from Breer is one that is interesting. Darnold was playing faster.
"I remember thinking myself, this guy's playing faster. Like, this looks like a different player. And I talked to Kevin O'Connell about that. He said they say I saw the same thing."
Darnold is going to be the player to watch going into the 2024 season and he could be a renaissance for the Vikings.
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