Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell said Wednesday that Sam Darnold will open training camp as the team's No. 1 QB. O'Connell did not commit to anything beyond that, though, saying that he plans for a "competitive" training camp.
"We haven't had to put out a depth chart or anything like that," O'Connell said. "But yeah, I would say Sam would be the guy I would look to based upon the spring he's had, and really where he's at in his career and his quarterback journey, and what he's been able to do coming in and [hitting] the ground running and taking advantage of a competitive situation."
This news doesn't come as a big surprise. Darnold worked ahead of J.J. McCarthy in OTAs and minicamp. And teams generally defer to veterans over rookies at this point of the offseason.
McCarthy reportedly had an up-and-down spring, and it wouldn't be shocking to see Darnold open the season under center. But this competition will be won and lost in training camp and preseason action.
McCarthy remains the better bet to start more games than Darnold this year. But drafters can't be counting on getting a full season out of him at this point. That leaves him as a QB3 in best-ball drafts. Darnold is only worth drafting in superflex leagues.
We're not moving McCarthy or Darnold on this news. We currently have McCarthy projected to play 14 games this season; Darnold three.
McCarthy sits 26th among QBs in current best-ball ADP. That could dip a few spots if he remains behind Darnold deep into August. We could also see McCarthy climb a few spots if he gets off to a strong start at training camp.
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