KOC: "JJM wearing us out", got work with 1st team offense

[StickierBuns]

Per HC Kevin O’Connell (on the Rich Eisen Show)
QB J.J. McCarthy has confirmed a lot of the things the #Vikings thought about him throughout the pre-draft process and then some:

“Everything so far, we had hoped to get out of J.J. from the spring confirming a lot of the things we thought about him throughout the pre-draft process. He’s done all those things and then some. He’s been wearing us out at the facilities working his tail off, and I think he’s gonna be in a great spot to continue his growth and development.”

HC Kevin O’Connell says #Vikings rookie QB J.J. McCarthy HAS gotten some work with the first team offense:

“He’s had a great spring. He’s off to a really good start. You know transitioning into a new offense a bunch of new teammates, new players, he gets a ton of work throughout routes on air and even in 7 on 7, you know where we were going full speed on all that stuff with some of the first group throughout the spring”

[Waterboy]

Per HC Kevin O’Connell (on the Rich Eisen Show)
QB J.J. McCarthy has confirmed a lot of the things the #Vikings thought about him throughout the pre-draft process and then some:

“Everything so far, we had hoped to get out of J.J. from the spring confirming a lot of the things we thought about him throughout the pre-draft process. He’s done all those things and then some. He’s been wearing us out at the facilities working his tail off, and I think he’s gonna be in a great spot to continue his growth and development.”

HC Kevin O’Connell says #Vikings rookie QB J.J. McCarthy HAS gotten some work with the first team offense:

“He’s had a great spring. He’s off to a really good start. You know transitioning into a new offense a bunch of new teammates, new players, he gets a ton of work throughout routes on air and even in 7 on 7, you know where we were going full speed on all that stuff with some of the first group throughout the spring”

This doesn't suck to hear.

[StickierBuns]

from r/minnesotavikings

[MaroonBells]

I watched the whole interview with KOC and came away a little more convinced of two things. That McCarthy was the right pick and that he'll sit the whole season.

[StickierBuns]

I watched the whole interview with KOC and came away a little more convinced of two things. That McCarthy was the right pick and that he'll sit the whole season.

....and JJM is the man regardless of how Darnold does.

[pattersaur]

....and JJM is the man regardless of how Darnold does.

You and MB are prolific posters around here, which is awesome and I love reading your takes because I know you both love the Vikes like I do.

But I'm not on the same page with you two on this.

I know at least MB has said he thinks Darnold will have a career year. That'd be fun. But if that happens do you guys expect the Vikings to cut bait with Darnold and hand the keys to a kid who neither of you wanted to play as a rookie? Or do you want us to re-sign Darnold to multiple years and continue to bench JJM?

I feel like you guys' ideal scenario of Darnold being starter all year, playing well, maybe leading us to the playoffs, is just setting up a trainwreck in the 2024 offseason. Sure, the Vikings want to win games and if Darnold is doing that they'll keep it rolling. But what if, as some believe is possible, he's really good? If he balls out he's not signing another one-year deal. Some team will give him Keenum money AND YEARS at least. "Good problem to have!"... sure... but how to solve it?

In other words, whether Darnold plays well or plays terrible, IMO there's about a 95% chance Darnold isn't on the Vikings in 2025. He either balls out and moves on, or messes the bed and is gone. So my point is: Is it in the longterm best interest of the team to start Sam for the full year? My personal opinion is no. Get JJM in there after the bye if he looks remotely competent and get him some experience. If he sucks well then lean on the local hacks next offseason and have them pimp what a great offseason he's having. The fans will still be on board.

That's my take. I'd love to hear everyone else's take on the scenario where we assume Darnold plays well this year.

[MaroonBells]

....and JJM is the man regardless of how Darnold does.

Of course he is. I don't think anyone doubts that. But I am curious to see what they might do if Darnold has a breakout season. Not just a breakout, but a terrific, All-Pro type season. 

He'll get paid for sure. But will the Vikings think "bird in the hand" and try to extend him? If they did, they would almost certainly want another short-term deal with their QBOTF ready to take the reins. Darnold would almost certainly be looking for a long-term deal. 

It would be an interesting dilemma. Would Darnold take a shorter deal to stay in the only offense that gave him life? Would the Vikings be willing to blow up their QB-on-a-rookie-deal cap fantasy and go with the proven guy over the kid who could still end up being Josh Rosen or Carson Wentz for all we know.

---

You and MB are prolific posters around here, which is awesome and I love reading your takes because I know you both love the Vikes like I do.

But I'm not on the same page with you two on this.

I know at least MB has said he thinks Darnold will have a career year. That'd be fun. But if that happens do you guys expect the Vikings to cut bait with Darnold and hand the keys to a kid who neither of you wanted to play as a rookie? Or do you want us to re-sign Darnold to multiple years and continue to bench JJM?

I feel like you guys' ideal scenario of Darnold being starter all year, playing well, maybe leading us to the playoffs, is just setting up a trainwreck in the 2024 offseason. Sure, the Vikings want to win games and if Darnold is doing that they'll keep it rolling. But what if, as some believe is possible, he's really good? If he balls out he's not signing another one-year deal. Some team will give him Keenum money AND YEARS at least. "Good problem to have!"... sure... but how to solve it?

In other words, whether Darnold plays well or plays terrible, IMO there's about a 95% chance Darnold isn't on the Vikings in 2025. He either balls out and moves on, or messes the bed and is gone. So my point is: Is it in the longterm best interest of the team to start Sam for the full year? My personal opinion is no. Get JJM in there after the bye if he looks remotely competent and get him some experience. If he sucks well then lean on the local hacks next offseason and have them pimp what a great offseason he's having. The fans will still be on board.

That's my take. I'd love to hear everyone else's take on the scenario where we assume Darnold plays well this year.

I didn't see this before my post above basically asking the same question. It will be interesting. And just for the record, yes, I think Darnold will have his best season ever. Of course he will. I don't think anyone doubts that. But we're talking about a very LOW bar here. 

The question I'm asking is what happens if it's more than a career year. What if it's an All Pro year? It sure ain't likely, but it sure ain't impossible. What would the Vikings do?

[MAD GAINZ]

I honestly think it's about a 1% chance Darnold has an All-Pro year guys. It's fun to hypothesize, but why waste the energy on this?

Best case scenario, we have an Alex Smith/Mahomes situation where Darnold plays well, defense and special teams are good, and we're in the playoff hunt. JJM takes over in 2025 and we never look back. The coaches are going to see JJM every day in practice and have a good idea of where he's at in his progression over the course of his rookie season.

If he's on track where they KNOW he's the guy and is ready to rock in 2025, it won't matter how well Darnold plays in 2024. The Vikings will be happy to get a comp pick from another team that signs him to a long-term deal and move forward with the plan that JJ is our long-term QB.

Worst case scenario, Darnold is the Darnold we saw in New York and Carolina and JJM either doesn't look ready or the Vikings feel he may not be "the guy", then we're probably in Chicago's shoes looking to move him and take another stab at the top of the draft.

There's obviously a big gray area in between all that, but debating the extremes seems like a waste of time.

At the end of the day, we should all be hoping Darnold plays well enough for this to be an enjoyable season and give the coaches the luxury of starting JJ when they "think" he's ready. Not because we're bottomed out and feel pressure to start the young guy. Getting JJM on the field before he's ready is about the worst thing we could do. I'm as anxious as anyone to see the kid play, but I'm not interested in rushing the kid out there before he's comfortable.

[StickierBuns]

I honestly think it's about a 1% chance Darnold has an All-Pro year guys.  It's fun to hypothesize, but why waste the energy on this?

Best case scenario, we have an Alex Smith/Mahomes situation where Darnold plays well, defense and special teams are good, and we're in the playoff hunt. JJM takes over in 2025 and we never look back. The coaches are going to see JJM every day in practice and have a good idea of where he's at in his progression over the course of his rookie season.

If he's on track where they KNOW he's the guy and is ready to rock in 2025, it won't matter how well Darnold plays in 2024.  The Vikings will be happy to get a comp pick from another team that signs him to a long-term deal and move forward with the plan that JJ is our long-term QB.

Worst case scenario, Darnold is the Darnold we saw in New York and Carolina and JJM either doesn't look ready or the Vikings feel he may not be "the guy", then we're probably in Chicago's shoes looking to move him and take another stab at the top of the draft.

There's obviously a big gray area in between all that, but debating the extremes seems like a waste of time.

At the end of the day, we should all be hoping Darnold plays well enough for this to be an enjoyable season and give the coaches the luxury of starting JJ when they "think" he's ready.  Not because we're bottomed out and feel pressure to start the young guy.  Getting JJM on the field before he's ready is about the worst thing we could do.  I'm as anxious as anyone to see the kid play, but I'm not interested in rushing the kid out there before he's comfortable.

Totally agree. Hypotheticals and what ifs on extremely low probabilities (Darnold being All Pro) is wasted energy when they've just drafted a QB #10 overall. Can Darnold play decently? Certainly. And I hope he does for a fun season.

[MaroonBells]

I honestly think it's about a 1% chance Darnold has an All-Pro year guys.  It's fun to hypothesize, but why waste the energy on this?

Best case scenario, we have an Alex Smith/Mahomes situation where Darnold plays well, defense and special teams are good, and we're in the playoff hunt. JJM takes over in 2025 and we never look back. The coaches are going to see JJM every day in practice and have a good idea of where he's at in his progression over the course of his rookie season.

If he's on track where they KNOW he's the guy and is ready to rock in 2025, it won't matter how well Darnold plays in 2024.  The Vikings will be happy to get a comp pick from another team that signs him to a long-term deal and move forward with the plan that JJ is our long-term QB.

Worst case scenario, Darnold is the Darnold we saw in New York and Carolina and JJM either doesn't look ready or the Vikings feel he may not be "the guy", then we're probably in Chicago's shoes looking to move him and take another stab at the top of the draft.

There's obviously a big gray area in between all that, but debating the extremes seems like a waste of time.

At the end of the day, we should all be hoping Darnold plays well enough for this to be an enjoyable season and give the coaches the luxury of starting JJ when they "think" he's ready.  Not because we're bottomed out and feel pressure to start the young guy.  Getting JJM on the field before he's ready is about the worst thing we could do.  I'm as anxious as anyone to see the kid play, but I'm not interested in rushing the kid out there before he's comfortable.

I don't want to get into odds and percentages of Sam Darnold being an All Pro in 2024. I think we can all agree it's not very likely. But what if he does? Forget All Pro. What if he just has a really really good year? Like Gannon when he went to Oakland. It's certainly a possibility. One nobody seems willing to entertain long enough to answer the question. What would they do? 

But I don't know the answer to that either. I think it probably depends a lot on what they think of JJM's development at the time. What if he just isn't getting it? Another possibility that no one seems willing to entertain. 

I know one thing for certain: it would be a big feather in the cap the "situation-over-talent" arguers, and likely force teams to re-evaluate how they draft and develop QBs.