The Minnesota Vikings (14-2) have been the NFL’s biggest surprise this season. Many pundits expected them to finish in the NFC North’s basement, or close to it. If they defeat the Detroit Lions (14-2) on Sunday Night Football in Week 18, they’ll not only take first in their division, but first in the entire conference.
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Quarterback Sam Darnold’s emergence is why Minnesota is in this position. Darnold’s stellar play has sparked conversations about the Vikings trading their 2024 first-round pick, J.J. McCarthy.
With Darnold’s excellence in year one under Kevin O’Connell, this would make sense. However, Shannon Sharpe doesn’t seem to agree based on comments from a recent segment of Nightcap.
“If you thought Sam Darnold was that [good], why would you draft J.J. McCarthy?… He has surprised… I was surprised because they took him and still drafted a quarterback with a top-10 pick… if you got a car, I’m not gonna go out and buy a new car if I’m convinced that the used car I’ve got can get me from point A to B in a timely manner consistently.”
Darnold earned his first ever Pro Bowl nod on Thursday. While there’s no guarantee he will maintain his level of production moving forward if he sticks around, Sharpe’s co-host, Chad Johnson believes Minnesota has the personnel necessary to keep things up.
Chad Johnson: “Sam Darnold is not gonna regress”
The 2024 season is Sam Darnold’s first time operating as a full-time starter under a proven NFL head coach. He never had this stable of a foundation as a New York Jets or Carolina Panthers player. During his San Francisco 49ers stint, he was Brock Purdy’s backup. This was his first real opportunity for success as an NFL player, and he took advantage of it.
Some quarterbacks are the engines of their offense. All three AFC Pro Bowl quarterbacks – Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, and Lamar Jackson – are the driving force of their franchise. They make up for a lack of talent in other areas of their rosters. They’re true superstar, Hall of Fame-type players.
Darnold, even with his success this season, is in a lower tier. He requires a strong supporting cast, similar to Jared Goff and Purdy, to dominate. There’s nothing wrong with that. As he, Goff, and Purdy have all shown, you can win many NFL games using such a formula. This is why Sharpe’s co-host, Chad Johnson, thinks the Vikings would be wise to retain him.
“Sam Darnold is the answer, based on what we’ve seen… because of the players he has around him, Sam Darnld is not gonna [regress]… the film [the Vikings] had to study when he was in New York [and] Carolina. They think they’re getting that Sam Darnold, not knowing what kind of Sam Darnold [they’re] gonna get when we put elite talent around him like this.”
Minnesota has a mountain of cap space (roughly $78 million) in 2025. They can easily fit a franchise tag or the first year of a large short-term contract for Darnold with room to spare. If this is the route they go, they could flip McCarthy for draft picks. They would further solidify the stellar roster around him by doing this.
At the same time, they could continue developing McCarthy in the background as Darnold attempts to prove himself in a second season. They wouldn’t gain draft capital but would have the best possible insurance at the league’s most important position. McCarthy would essentially function like their version of Jordan Love.
No matter what they do, the Vikings are in a great spot. It’s reasonable for them to explore all avenues regarding Darnold and McCarthy. But for now, that’s a secondary focus to their main objective: capturing their first Lombardi Trophy.
