What do you think made it click for Sam Darnold? (3 Viewers)

[Paul]

It all comes down to the right fit.

FO, coaching, personnel.

It's all connected.

Agreed. I would also add time to develop.

 

[DSnfla]

Pretty much every mock draft I’ve done, this is the basic strategy I’ve had. Trade back around 5-10 picks (I know it’s not a given that this will be an option nor that Loomis would even do it if the opportunity presents itself) so we can get another 2nd and 4th rounder this year (maybe a little lagniappe in the ‘26 draft too), draft 1-3 bigger bodied possession/contested catch WR/TEs to compliment Olave and Sheed, 1 or 2 pass rushers, 1 NT, and 2 OLs. Focus on players who will allow us to throw the ball more and attack the opposing QBs. That’s it. Without those 2 facets of the game being locked up, nothing else matters.

I'm fine with trading back if Tet, Graham or Carter are gone. It will probably be hard though. I do think the value in this draft is mid -late 1st and 2nd

 

[DSnfla]

After last week, I'm not sure things have clicked entirely. He definitely was part of their success, but I'm not so sure he's the reason for it. I'm glad some team not named the Saints are going to overpay for him in the offseason. Most likely just to see JJ McCarthy do about the same next season.

Glenn had a GREAT game plan , just confused him big time

 

[Elvis]

Glenn had a GREAT game plan , just confused him big time

So I guess you’ve convinced yourself of that because you’re all in on Glenn?

 

[DSnfla]

So I guess you’ve convinced yourself of that because you’re all in on Glenn?

I was not totally against Glenn before. But I've watched a bunch of vids of how he coaches and relates to players and his philosophies. That's what has me being OK if he's the guy. That master class ( not my words , the announcers said that) he came up with has me ok with him being HC. I think he would be a culture builder and would hold everyone accountable.

Also I'm in favor of keeping Kubiak and the whole offensive staff and maybe there's a chance Glen would do that. KK's system fits our personnel the best

 

[jasonsw]

He is a one year wonder, Minnesota is the king of that with qbs. Cunningham, George, Moon, Favre, Keenum.

 

[los226]

Kevin O’ Connell, JJ, Addison and they had a great defense for most of the year. There were some really bad Darnold turnovers this season just like he had any other season. But a good head coach with great weapons can manufacture TD’s with a sub par QB.

 

[NatureBoy]

Right place, right time. He has a skill set thats a good fit for the Vikings' QB needs.

 

[saintlad]

Kevin O’ Connell, JJ, Addison and they had a great defense for most of the year. There were some really bad Darnold turnovers this season just like he had any other season. But a good head coach with great weapons can manufacture TD’s with a sub par QB.

Yep, Kirk Cousins was able to parlay that into a nice salary from the Falcons, then he was benched and replaced by a rookie.

Cousins should have stayed a Viking.

 

[3ParStillDriver]

Kevin O'Connell, and fair chance its not "clicking" for Sam Darnold. Kevin O'Connell has a history of making mediocre and below average QB's look really good. Look at Kirk Cousins with Kevin O'Connell and look at him before and after Kevin O'Connell. He's the same exact player. And this didn't just start with the Vikings. The Rams had very good QB's but played well while he was OC there, and with the Redskins in 2019 he pulled magic out of his hat when he was promoted to OC and made Keenum/Haskins look decent/average. That's the job that got him the OC job with the Rams.

The guy just runs a QB system that is super friendly, similar to Andy Reid. In fact, I think its a super fair comparison. Just like Andy Reid, Kevin O'Connell seems to squeeze maximum success from his QB's due to the system. Payton tends to do it as well. I don't think Bo Nix would have the success he was having for most other coaches.

 

[SweetT]

Things that made it click:
Failure
Time
Experience
Knowledge
Dedication
Confidence
Environment

 

[jboss]

Not playing for the Jets

 

[HouseCall]

This was Carolina’s QB room the season they traded McCaffrey to get the picks - to trade up to 1 in 23’ to pick Bryce Young.

Now Bryce has shown that he has grown some this season, but imagine where Carolina might be had they held on to McCaffrey, kept one of these QBs and their draft picks going into 23’?

 

[Rouxble]

Kevin O'Connell, and fair chance its not "clicking" for Sam Darnold. Kevin O'Connell has a history of making mediocre and below average QB's look really good. Look at Kirk Cousins with Kevin O'Connell and look at him before and after Kevin O'Connell. He's the same exact player. And this didn't just start with the Vikings. The Rams had very good QB's but played well while he was OC there, and with the Redskins in 2019 he pulled magic out of his hat when he was promoted to OC and made Keenum/Haskins look decent/average. That's the job that got him the OC job with the Rams.

The guy just runs a QB system that is super friendly, similar to Andy Reid. In fact, I think its a super fair comparison. Just like Andy Reid, Kevin O'Connell seems to squeeze maximum success from his QB's due to the system. Payton tends to do it as well. I don't think Bo Nix would have the success he was having for most other coaches.

Washington had one of the worst offenses in the league when he was there, hard to say he made anyone look average. They had a total of 2,812 passing yards (176 yds/game), and the team didn't make any effort to retain him when they hired Rivera.

Then he had Goff and Stafford in LA, who have both had plenty of success without O'Connell.

Then he had Cousins for a few years, and Cousins had back-to-back seasons with 4200+ yards and 33+ TD's before O'Connell even arrived. Without Cousins last year, the Vikings were 26th in points during the nine games started by a mix of Josh Dobbs, Jaren Hall, and Nick Mullens.

Now he has Darnold, who had probably the worst supporting cast in his career prior to now, as well as joining two losing franchises before going to the 49ers and Vikings. With a year to learn the offensive system as a backup and the opportunity to have a few playmakers around him, he has stepped up his game and is playing up to his draft pedigree, in the same way Mayfield has done in Tampa.

 

[SirLoinSaint64]

Got away from the Jets. Sat for a while. Got an unexpected opportunity on a good team and let it fly. I still wouldn't pay him 40 million.