EAGAN, Minn. -- Ask anyone with the Minnesota Vikings about Sam Darnold and you're likely to get a similar answer.
"One thing he's done," said offensive coordinator Wes Phillips, "is come out and been able to throw the football extremely well."
"This guy makes some legit throws," according to defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
"Sam," running back Aaron Jones said, "can spin it. He can really spin it."
"He's a gunslinger," according to receiver Brandon Powell. "He's got a little zip on that ball."
Darnold's arm talent got him drafted at No. 3 by the New York Jets in 2018, and it was clearly evident this summer as he took nearly every first-team snap of Vikings training camp. Flores, for one, has sometimes advised defenders to accept they were beat on throws that "not a lot of guys" can make.
Few Vikings coaches and players had seen Darnold throw in person before he signed in March, explaining some of their visceral reactions. But quarterbacks coach Josh McCown, Darnold's teammate with the Jets, theorized their reactions have been amplified by seeing him with a level of experience and confidence that allowed him to "tap into the top" of his baseline arm strength.
Darnold wasn't shy about displaying that arm, whether it was a 50-yard strike to receiver Justin Jefferson on the first day of camp or driving a 26-yard pass over a linebacker to receiver Jalen Nailor in a preseason game.
Already airing it out 🎯@JJettas2 pic.twitter.com/MyTvk5a4sC
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) July 25, 2024
Those moments have raised hopes that the Vikings can survive a season-ending injury to rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy -- who likely would have taken over the job at some point during the regular season -- and defy projections of a last-place finish in the NFC North, where they have the longest odds (+900), per ESPN BET.
There can be no arguing that Darnold was one of the NFL's worst-performing quarterbacks over the past six seasons, but Vikings players and coaches have now seen why he will get another chance when their 2024 season opens Sunday at the New York Giants (1 p.m. ET, Fox).
"I feel like he's going to prove a lot of people wrong," Jones said, "and show who he really is as a quarterback with this opportunity. Any of my quarterbacks that I've had, they have a clean slate. It's about proving yourself and what you can do now. It's not about what you've done in the past. It's about now. So I truly do believe in him.
"We've gotten a chance to work with him, play with him, and he's a special talent. ... A lot of people are sleeping on him."
With a smile, Jones lowered his voice and added: "Early favorite for comeback [player] of the year."
A reset to reality nevertheless seems in order. Darnold is one of 26 NFL quarterbacks who have started at least 50 games since the beginning of the 2018 season, when he won the Jets' top job as a rookie out of training camp. His Total Quarterback Rating (QBR) over that span is 42, the worst among that group.
As he absorbed coach Kevin O'Connell's version of the West Coast offense, one that former starter Kirk Cousins said he was still learning well into his first season in the system (2022), Darnold has been inaccurate on some short-range throws. He has looked jittery on other occasions as he scanned the field for options, a reminder that he has taken an average of 2.26 sacks per game in his career, 11th most among those 26 quarterbacks since 2018.
And sometimes he made regrettable throws. During an Aug. 12 practice, Darnold did not appear to see that linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel had slipped into the flat on a quick-hitting pass to Jefferson, creating an interception that Van Ginkel returned for a touchdown.
Darnold bent over with his arms on his knees immediately after the throw, the same type of play that ultimately doomed his time with the Jets from 2018 to 2020 and later the Carolina Panthers (2021-22). He has thrown nearly as many interceptions (56) as touchdown passes (63) in his career, and that TD-INT ratio of 1.1 is the worst among those 26 quarterbacks since 2018. His overall average of 1.06 turnovers per game is the fourth worst.
Wrapped in that data is a reminder that Darnold does not face a high bar to produce the best season of his career in 2024. Without specifically referencing Darnold's history of turnovers, O'Connell has talked repeatedly about the value of making good decisions when defenders win in coverage. "Survive the down" is a phrase O'Connell uses to describe the benefits of checkdowns, throwaways and scrambles, compared to forcing the ball into predetermined spots.
"And when there has been any kind of setback or a misread in this camp," McCown said, "he's come back to being the same guy on the next play. And that's the reality of our league. There's a mental exercise to be able to get over that hurdle and get yourself back to a grounded space and go play the position again. It's critical, and we've seen him do that at such a high level."
Darnold has done so in practice, facing one of the NFL's most unrelenting and unpredictable defensive schemes, adding an additional layer of complexity.
"We give a ton of different looks," said defensive lineman Harrison Phillips. "And I can see the mental gymnastics that he's constantly working on, and when he's upset at himself when he guesses wrong to try to see what we're in and get his offense the best possible checks. We throw everything we've got at him, so just to see him answer that bell, play after play, period after period, practice after practice, has been good. We might get him one play, but he gets us the next. I think that's been cool to see."
Anecdotally, at least, some of Darnold's best throws of the summer were among his longest. The speed and skill of Jefferson and fellow receiver Jordan Addison can make up for some imperfectly placed balls, but overall, Darnold's deep accuracy has belied his career history.
Darnold has embraced the long ball throughout his time in the NFL, pushing 11.9% of his attempts at least 20 yards in the air, the seventh highest rate among all qualified quarterbacks over that span. For comparison, Cousins' rate in O'Connell's offense was 8.3%, No. 35 among all quarterbacks since the start of the 2022 season.
So even if he does not run the Vikings' offense as well as Cousins, Darnold could potentially add an explosive element. But he has spent the summer politely pushing back on long-range projections. He said last month that he was trying to avoid being "worried about the wrong thing at the wrong time," and if he views this season as a chance to resurrect his career, he isn't going there publicly.
"As a young player," he said, "you can definitely get excited about what the future might hold or what things might look like. But at the end of the day, you've got to be where your feet are. And this sport, this position, it's hard enough as it is. If you start worrying about the wrong things, it'll come back to bite you."