Vikings' Kevin O'Connell shares his perception on easy methods to develop younger quarterbacks

One of many early surprises of the 2024 NFL season has been the rebirth of quarterback Sam Darnold. After spending final 12 months as a backup with the San Francisco 49ers, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings and has them off to a 3-0 begin.

Darnold’s eight passing touchdowns rank first within the NFL by three weeks, his 117.3 passer ranking ranks second and his 8.4 yards per try rank fifth. He’s simply the fifth quarterback over the past 25 years to start out 3-0 and throw eight passing touchdowns in his first three begins with a group. Two of the earlier 4 quarterbacks received the Super Bowl that season. 

It wasn’t way back the place the previous No. 3 total decide of the New York Jets was thought to be an entire bust. Darnold went 13-25 with the Jets earlier than being traded to the Carolina Panthers, then was minimize free after going 8-9 in Charlotte. Now, at 27-years-old, he is taking part in himself right into a profitable contract that may come from both the Vikings or one other quarterback-needy group.

What occurred for Darnold to show the nook as a beginning quarterback? His present scenario has been an amazing assist in his early-season success. Not solely does Darnold get to throw to the most effective receiver within the NFL in Justin Jefferson, however he is additionally being guided by an underrated offensive thoughts in head coach Kevin O’Connell. 

Throughout a current look on the “Wealthy Eisen Present,” O’Connell mentioned growing quarterbacks, and mentioned that if a participant struggles early in his profession, it is the group that’s accountable. 

“I simply suppose as a complete, there’s not sufficient emphasis placed on the group’s function within the improvement of the place, that means I imagine that organizations fail younger quarterbacks earlier than younger quarterbacks fail organizations,” O’Connell mentioned.

Although he has the instance of Darnold proper in entrance of him, and former Panthers’ No. 1 total decide Bryce Young was benched simply final week in Carolina, O’Connell mentioned he did not need to give a particular instance of what he was speaking about.  

“Simply total 30,000-foot view, I believe it is necessary to know that each single one in all these guys is on a journey. A really troublesome journey,” O’Connell mentioned. “That they want the help, they want the teammates round them, they want the methods in place to in the end attempt to maximize who they’re and what their potential is since you’re nonetheless drafting gamers off of potential. After which the whole lot that occurs from that second to when that potential turns into a actuality is basically on the group should you’ve acquired the proper man that you simply’re bringing in. 

“I do imagine there’s some occasions the place issues simply do not work out, after which getting an opportunity to kinda wipe the slate clear and get a restart whereas nonetheless utilizing your earlier experiences to kinda form the way you’re gonna work, why you are gonna work, why issues are necessary to you, will solely make guys higher in the long run and I believe we have seen some examples of that in our league as nicely over the previous few years.” 

O’Connell is appropriate in saying that we have seen examples of QB rebounds lately. Aside from Darnold, Baker Mayfield is a quarterback who was awarded a multi-year contract this offseason after he bounced again with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following quick stints with the Panthers and Los Angeles Rams. Geno Smith of the Seattle Seahawks received Comeback Participant of the Yr in 2022 and earned a contract extension after his profession 12 months following the Russell Wilson commerce. Like Mayfield, Smith performed for 3 completely different groups earlier than discovering his long-term dwelling. 

How about Malik Willis? The previous third-round decide was just about thrown away by the Tennessee Titans, however instantly stepped into the beginning lineup for the Green Bay Packers and led his new group to 2 straight victories whereas taking part in the most effective soccer of his NFL profession.

What do O’Connell’s feedback imply for a number of the younger quarterbacks who’re struggling proper now? May Younger discover his footing if he had been traded to a group just like the Miami Dolphins? May Will Levis or Daniel Jones thrive with a change of surroundings? 

The underside line is that we have discovered you’ll be able to’t rule out younger quarterbacks simply because they don’t seem to be instantly profitable. And O’Connell says it is on the organizations if their investments show fruitful or not.