Sam Darnold is playing JJ McCarthy out of a long-term job with Vikings

It's only been one month of the 2024 NFL season, and there are still 13 games left to be played, but Sam Darnold is playing like a legitimate MVP for the Minnesota Vikings, who have been shocking the league and are 4-0 after a win on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.

On the road.

Darnold hasn't been immune to mistakes and a couple of his errors on Sunday almost led to the Packers scraping and clawing their way back into the game. But on the whole, it's difficult if not impossible to argue with the results we've seen so far from the former #3 overall pick out of USC.

Sam Darnold emerging as viable franchise QB for Vikings?

The good news right now for the Minnesota Vikings is...well, there's actually a lot of good news right now. First of all, Darnold is playing at an exceptionally high level. Second, he's also only 27 years old. That was one of the great benefits of coming into the league at such a young age for Darnold. He's had "upside" for like seven years now.

And that upside, frankly, has now translated since Darnold has gotten into a much better situation for himself. The NFL Draft is what it is for a reason. The best (or highest rated) prospects go to the worst teams. And often, those players go to terrible situations. But we're seeing guys who looked like clear NFL Draft "busts" emerge in new situations elsewhere around the league these days, and there are no shortage of examples.

Baker Mayfield was cast aside by the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers before emerging with the Buccaneers.

Geno Smith was a journeyman backup before finding his stride with the Seattle Seahawks.

Heck, you could even argue that Jared Goff was jettisoned by the LA Rams and many considered him to be a bust of a #1 overall pick before he started really thriving in Detroit.

The fact of the matter is, it's not over for you until you're officially out of the league these days. Guys are experiencing career resurgences once they get into more favorable situations, and Darnold has exactly that in Minnesota. He's got some of the best offensive weapons in the game, and Brian Flores is calling a really good defense to back them up this season.

The Vikings may have a legitimate question on their hands about whether or not Darnold is a viable long-term option for their franchise, and the good news for them is, JJ McCarthy was one of the youngest players in this year's draft. He's going to need time coming back from his preseason knee injury. The idea of Darnold getting another "trial" year in 2025 is very believable at this point as McCarthy could reasonably still be considered to be working his way back.

And if Darnold keeps playing like this, the Vikings will have no motivation to pivot to McCarthy, and McCarthy could find himself on the trade block in the next couple of years.

That's putting the cart before the horse, but it's something that people are talking and thinking about at this point already, and it's not out of the question with Darnold playing the way he has been.