The Minnesota Vikings are one of nine undefeated teams entering Week 3 and it is thanks in large part to the contributions of quarterback Sam Darnold. His journeyman status belies his draft pedigree as the No. 3 overall pick by the New York Jets in 2018.
He has a 23-35 record in his career and is now on his fourth NFL franchise in five seasons with stops at the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers along the way.
What Darnold has done so far is not a surprise to his teammate Harrison Phillips though.
“I’m gonna be honest with you, I really did [see this coming from Darnold],” Phillips, one of eight Vikings team captains, told NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on “The Insiders” on September 17. “I remember going against this dude at USC all the time and being like, ‘Yo, this guy is unbelievable.’
“He was just so elusive in the pocket, could make throws from anywhere. I think it was, maybe, the fifth time playing him, I was finally able to get him down. He’s great. And so when we signed him I was really ecstatic.”
Darnold faced Stanford three times in his collegiate career, going 2-1 against USC’s former Pac-12 rivals. Phillips faced the Trojans twice, both in his and Darnold’s final season in 2017.
Phillips was credited for one half-sack on Darnold in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
Darnold has the second-most passing touchdowns and ranks ninth in passing yards (476) and in completion percentage (72%). He is currently tracking for his highest touchdown rate and yards, per attempt of his career, per Pro Football Reference.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert predicted the Vikings would tread water in 2024.
Phillips was so excited about Darnold’s addition, that he touted the Vikings’ outlook coming into the campaign. This start is already their best in eight seasons.
“I was like, ‘Hey, I like our chances, man. Sam’s a dog,’” Phillips said. “And, obviously, we drafted J.J. [McCarthy], and I just know that room was competing with one another. And Sam’s been fantastic so far, and I think he’s only gonna get better.”
Phillips’ comments reinforce those of Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell.
Vikings quarterbacks coach Josh McCown was teammates with Darnold on the Jets in 2018. But O’Connell has touted his previous interest in the quarterback and his best football lying ahead.
“We all go through a quarterback journey in this league,” O’Connell said during an interview on “The Insiders” in March. “But it’s a journey where you learn and you continue to grow and ultimately you just want to find yourself in a position in the future to be the best version of yourself and all the things you’ve learned along the way.
“I think Sam’s at that point in his career.”
The Vikings sit alone atop the NFC North and Phillips believes they are just getting scratching the surface of their potential.
“We have a lot of very disciplined, unselfish players,” Phillips said. “When you’re playing for the guy next to you, you just have a little extra chip on your shoulder and a little more gas in the tank. We just have a lot of guys who have a lot of things that – who have been overlooked in their life, gone through a lot of adversity in their life.
“You just have dogs that are just constantly wanting to prove to themselves, prove to others, prove to this team. And when you get enough of those guys together with the right leadership and the people we have on this team, the talent we brought in this offseason through the draft and through free agency, it’s just been a great culmination of success. And we’re hoping that we’re not peaking going into Week 3 this season. We hope that we’re playing football for a long time.”
The Vikings host the 2-0 Houston Texans in Week 3.
The Vikings are 5-0 versus the Texans all time. Darnold is 1-1 in his career versus the Texans, with the win coming in 2021 with the Panthers.