With the unfortunate news about the injury to J.J. McCarthy, Sam Darnold will now be getting a golden opportunity with the Minnesota Vikings. As we get closer to the start of the regular season, McCarthy doesn’t quite have a timeline for his return from what has been diagnosed as a torn meniscus.
McCarthy was the first-round pick of the Vikings, but they weren’t solely relying on him to be their starter in Week 1 this season. This offseason, the Vikings also brought in Darnold to compete and potentially start this season.
Like McCarthy, Darnold is also a first-round pick, but didn’t get his career off to the start that he would have liked with the New York Jets. While it wasn’t all completely Darnold’s fault for his struggles in New York, both sides needed to move on.
After New York, Darnold went to the Carolina Panthers, in a situation that wasn’t much better than what he was used to with the Jets. Last season, Darnold spent the year with the San Francisco 49ers, which was likely a good experience for him as a backup.
Now, Darnold will likely be getting a good opportunity to start for the Vikings, and he’s in a pretty good situation.
Can Sam Darnold make the most of his chance with the Vikings?
On the Vikings, Darnold will be throwing the ball to arguably the best wide receiver in football and certainly the best wide receiver he has ever played with in Justin Jefferson. In addition to having Jefferson, Darnold will also have Jordan Addison. While Addison has had some troubles off the field, he is an excellent player on the field.
Darnold has yet to really find his bearings in the NFL yet despite getting a lot of starts in the league. However, due to youth and inexperience, there are some reasons to believe that Darnold could have a strong season with the Vikings.
There are a lot of pieces to like around Darnold which is a good place to start, plus his experience on the 49ers last season under Kyle Shanahan should have helped his development as well.
While Darnold might not become a star in the league, he might be able to win some games for the Vikings with a good situation around him.
The Vikings will likely be very careful with J.J. McCarthy coming back from his knee injury, but in the meantime, Sam Darnold might have an excellent chance to prove what he can or cannot do in the league to start the season.
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