One of the early surprises of the 2024 NFL season was the rebirth of quarterback Sam Darnold. After spending last year as a backup with the San Francisco 49ers, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings and has them off to a 3-0 start.
Darnold’s eight passing touchdowns ranks first in the NFL through three weeks, his 117.3 passer rating ranks second and his 8.4 yards per attempt ranks fifth. He is just the fifth quarterback in the last 25 years to start 3-0 and throw eight passing touchdowns in his first three starts with a team. Two of the previous four quarterbacks won the Super Bowl that season.
It wasn’t long ago where the former #3 overall pick of the New York Jets was viewed as a complete bust. Darnold went 13-25 with the Jets before being traded to the Carolina Panthers, then was cut loose after going 8-9 in Charlotte. Now, at 27 years old, he’s playing himself into a lucrative contract that will either come from the Vikings or another quarterback-needy team.
What happened for Darnold to turn the corner as a starting quarterback? His current situation has been a big help in his early-season success. Not only does Darnold get to throw to the best receiver in the NFL in Justin Jefferson, but he is also led by an underrated offensive mind in head coach Kevin O’Connell.
During a recent appearance on the “Rich Eisen Show,” O’Connell discussed developing quarterbacks, and said that if a player struggles early in his career, it’s the organization’s fault.
“I just think overall, there’s not enough emphasis on the organization’s role in the development of the position, meaning I believe organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations,” O’Connell said .
Even though he has Darnold’s example right in front of him, and former Panthers No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young was laid just last week in Carolina, O’Connell said he didn’t want to give a specific example of what he. talked about
“Just a total 30,000-foot view, I think it’s important to understand that every single one of these guys is on a journey. A very difficult journey,” O’Connell said. “That they need the support, they need the teammates around them, they need the systems in place to ultimately try to maximize who they are and what their potential is because you’re still drafting players out of potential. And then everything that happens from that point when that potential becomes a reality is really up to the organization if you have the right guy you bring in.
“I believe there are some times where things just don’t work, and then you get a chance to kind of wipe the slate clean and start over while still using your previous experiences to kind of shape how you’re going to work, why you’re going to work, why things are important to you, is only going to make kids better in the end and I think we’ve seen some examples of that in our league over the last few years as well.”
O’Connell is correct in saying that we have seen examples of QB bounces recently. In addition to Darnold, Baker Mayfield is a quarterback who was given a multi-year contract this offseason after returning with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following brief stints with the Panthers and Los Angeles Rams. Geno Smith of the Seattle Seahawks won Comeback Player of the Year in 2022 and earned a contract extension after his career year following the Russell Wilson trade. Like Mayfield, Smith played for three different teams before finding his long-term home.
What about Malik Willis? The former third-round pick was practically dumped by the Tennessee Titans, but immediately stepped into the starting lineup for the Green Bay Packers and led his new team to two straight wins while playing the best football of his NFL career.
What do O’Connell’s comments mean for some of the young quarterbacks who are struggling right now? Could Young find his footing if he were traded to a team like the Miami Dolphins? Could Levis or Daniel Jones thrive with a change of scenery?
The bottom line is that we’ve learned that you can’t rule out young quarterbacks just because they don’t succeed right away. And O’Connell says it’s up to the organizations if their investments prove fruitful or not.
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