KOC Reveals Who was on Track to Win 2024 Vikings QB Battle

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Sam Darnold
Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Last season the Minnesota Vikings scooped up a former first round pick at quarterback when they signed Sam Darnold. They also used their first pick on a quarterback, drafting J.J. McCarthy. Discussions raged on regarding who would start during the regular season, but they all became moot when McCarthy suffered a season ending knee injury.

That doesn’t mean head coach Kevin O’Connell didn’t need to consider what his plan of attack was. Of course he was leaning one way or another just weeks before the season started. It also plays into what the QB blueprint could look like for 2025.

Minnesota Vikings Kevin O’Connell dishes on his quarterback plan

Fresh off winning an NFL Head Coach of the Year award, MN Vikings leader Kevin O’Connell joined the Dan Patrick Show. It didn’t take long for the host to hit him with a pretty tough question. If the injury to the rookie never occured, who was going to start?

“Well I would say this, Dan. We had just seen J.J. [McCarthy] play in his first preseason game. There was a lot of positive things on that tape that left us as a coaching staff saying that we need to see this thing through to the end of training camp… Sam Darnold was having a really good camp. It was showing up day in and day out… I would probably say that Sam Darnold would have been our starting quarterback just out of the experience.”

Kevin O’Connell on the Vikings presumed quarterback situation (Dan Patrick Show)

Of course O’Connell was relatively diplomatic with his answer, as usual. McCarthy had a great preseason debut, but there was little else to go evaluate from besides practice. The Michigan product went 11-for-17 with 188 yards and two touchdowns for the Minnesota Vikings against the Raiders.

It was always going to be difficult for McCarthy to unseat Darnold right out of the gate. It’s not as though the $10 million given to Darnold was a massive hurdle, but the veteran’s experience was always expected to be given a chance to prove it before the rookie.

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Darnold led the Minnesota Vikings to a 14-win season. He threw for 4,319 yards with 35 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions. It was easily the greatest season of his career, and he’s in line for a sizable payday because of it.

MN Vikings options

After missing an entire season due to his knee injury, it is worth wondering if O’Connell will employ a similar strategy this time around. McCarthy is reportedly healthy and working towards full-go, but the Vikings could opt to slow play his return and give a veteran a chance.

If there is a desire to roll with a veteran again, then three options seem to be the most logical. The Vikings could run it back with Sam Darnold, try Daniel Jones, or engage with Aaron Rodgers.

Ultimately nothing has changed about McCarthy being the future of the Minnesota Vikings franchise. It just remains to be seen when that transition will take place, and his injury only muddied the waters when trying to predict that reality.

The ideal roster situation across NFL landscapes is to have a quarterback on a rookie contract. The Vikings could have that in the form of McCarthy, but O’Connell must be certain he is both ready and capable to be the leader of the offense.

Related: Vikings Defensive Assistant Lands Another Interview

Minnesota is coming off a wildly successful season, and they can’t afford to have a question mark at the most important position in sports.

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