On Wednesday, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated shared that he feels a "less than 10%" chance that Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell will start rookie J.J. McCarthy over veteran Sam Darnold at quarterback for Week 1 of the 2024 season.
"[O'Connell] put together a detailed, step-by-step development plan for McCarthy that’ll require the quarterback to hit certain milestones before the team presses him into real action," Breer explained. "The latter had a really good spring, too, delivering on how the Minnesota Vikings projected him, as Darnold came from a year in (head coach) Kyle Shanahan’s system with the San Francisco 49ers."
O'Connell offered high praise for Darnold last week before the coach confirmed that the 27-year-old free-agency acquisition is the favorite to begin training camp atop the depth chart ahead of McCarthy, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall. Breer previously suggested that Darnold could compete for Comeback Player of the Year Award honors under O'Connell, and Breer mentioned on Wednesday how Darnold impressed individuals within the Vikings with how he performed late in San Francisco's 33-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens back on Christmas night.
Darnold completed eight of 14 pass attempts for 81 yards with a touchdown and an interception in that appearance.
"Yes, it was garbage time," Breer said. "But what I saw, and what I know Minnesota saw, was a talented kid who came into the league raw suddenly playing faster and with much better rhythm than we’d seen in the past. Now, I’m not saying Darnold is going to morph into Joe Montana or anything like that. But I do think he’ll do enough to keep the bar high for McCarthy to get on the field."
As of Wednesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed McCarthy fourth among the betting favorites at +1500 odds to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award for the 2024 season. While plenty can happen between the first full day of training camp practices and the final snap of the preseason, it sounds like McCarthy will begin Minnesota's Week 1 game at the New York Giants on Sept. 8, watching Darnold play from the sideline.
