Vikings analyst sees Sam Darnold establishing himself as Vikings QB1

Tyler Forness

Vikings analyst sees Sam Darnold establishing himself as Vikings QB1 image

While the Minnesota Vikings are in transition, they are still making every effort to win football games. They brought in quarterback Sam Darnold to be the starting quarterback for that reason.

While he might be a bridge to J.J. McCarthy, that doesn't mean he's here to just sit around and help the young rookie. He's here to win football games. That's what the Vikings thought when they signed him and it's standing out during minicamp.

SKOR North's Judd Zulgad was live at minicamp and believes that the job is safely Sam Darnold's right now

"For anyone who thought you know, there's a fighting chance that Sam Darnold might lose the job to JJ McCarthy. I'm going to tell you right now, I don't expect that. Darnold throughout the offseason in the camp so far, the OTAs, he has been the number one quarterback Nick Mullens is behind him and then McCarthy and Jaren Hall are working with the backups. This is Darnold's job. And Darnold's look pretty good. He's got some nice touch on the football. I think it might be security to see what he has. I think the Vikings also are very being very cautious not to rush change in McCarthy and that is on display every time we come out here for an open practice, at least during the offseason. "

This shouldn't be too much of a surprise. The players haven't put pads on and they will be extra careful with McCarthy's development. The Vikings organization understands how important it is to nurture a young quarterback and rushing McCarthy could end up being a disaster.

Darnold has always had the talent to be a great quarterback but hasn't been able to put it together for multiple reasons. With the best situation he's been in with multiple great weapons, a solid offensive line and a top line play caller in Kevin O'Connell, Darnold could take a major step forward and earn himself a lot of money with his next team.

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Tyler Forness

Tyler Forness Photo

Tyler Forness was previously the managing editor of USA Today's Vikings Wire. His work has been featured on Sports Illustrated, USA Today, Voices of Wrestling, SB Nation, and NBC Sports Edge among others. He is an avid wrestling fan, craft beer connoisseur, and loves the run-n-shoot offense. You can find him on Twitter/X @TheRealForno.