Vikings QB Sam Darnold threw for just 181 yards but racked up 4 TD passes in Sunday's beatdown of the Texans. He connected with four different targets for those scores: WR Justin Jefferson, RB Aaron Jones, WR Jalen Nailor, and TE Johnny Mundt. Darnold hurt his left knee late in the third quarter but left the field for only one snap before returning and finishing out the game. (Nick Mullens kneeled on the game's final play.)
Rookie teammate J.J. McCarthy: "Sam Darnold is good at football."
Former NFL DB -- and current TV analyst -- Ryan Clark: "Sam Darnold is the MVP favorite. The Minnesota Vikings are the best team in ball. Just what you expected headed into Week 4."
It's obviously too early to actually label an MVP favorite. And we're still figuring out who the best team in football is. But it's tough to argue either point through three weeks.
Minnesota stands 3-0 after beating the 49ers and Texans consecutively. Darnold entered Sunday with the sixth-best Pro Football Focus passing grade among starters and the third-most yards per pass attempt (9.5).
And he has yet to play with TE T.J. Hockenson and has barely seen any of WR Jordan Addison.
Back-to-back starter-level fantasy performances for Darnold has to put him in top-12 consideration for Week 4 at Green Bay. We'll see how he fares in that one before judging Darnold's viability for a Week 5 home date with the Jets.
Hockenson will be eligible to come off the PUP list for that one. We'll see if he's ready, but I wouldn't be surprised if they wait through the Week 6 bye.
Darnold's resurgence is obviously most relevant to redraft leagues. But every positive outing he stacks up helps his chances of landing a starting gig somewhere in 2025.
He's an interesting player for dynasty trade talks. Don't undersell Darnold if you're the holder in your league.
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