Vikings HC thinks Sam Darnold ‘took a lot’ from time with 49ers

It was beforehand talked about how quarterback Sam Darnold impressed the Minnesota Vikings with how he carried out for the San Francisco 49ers throughout a garbage-time look within the 49ers’ 33-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas night time final 12 months. 

Coming off Darnold’s stellar outing in Minnesota’s 28-6 highway win on the New York Giants this previous Sunday, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell spoke about what Darnold picked up in his lone marketing campaign working with 49ers head coach and offensive guru Kyle Shanahan. 

“I assume Sam being across the Niners and Kyle and the way he coached that group final 12 months, I believe he took rather a lot out of that,” O’Connell informed reporters on Monday, as shared by Myles Simmons of Professional Soccer Discuss. “After which I believe simply the way in which he went in regards to the day by day, I actually burdened to Sam all through coaching camp as we put in performs, undergo a strategy of the way you had been digesting that info, what you had been doing at night time, if we gave him info early, how he was going about making an attempt to be snug with that.” 

In the spring of 2023, one Niners insider raised some eyebrows when he considerably controversially stated that Darnold “could be…essentially the most gifted thrower of the soccer that the 49ers have ever had.” Darnold in the end spent the majority of final season serving as a backup behind Brock Purdy, and there was no assure after the Vikings made signal-caller J.J. McCarthy the tenth general decide of the 2024 NFL Draft that Darnold would get the nod for the Week 1 matchup on the Giants. 

After all, Minnesota’s scenario modified as soon as McCarthy was sidelined indefinitely after he underwent a full meniscus restore in August. As Sports activities Illustrated’s Albert Breer identified, Darnold accomplished 13 of his first 14 passes for 151 yards and a landing in what grew to become a laugher at MetLife Stadium, the place Darnold performed residence video games with the New York Jets from 2018-20, this previous Sunday.

In line with ESPN stats, Darnold heads into Minnesota’s Week 2 residence recreation in opposition to none apart from Shanahan’s 49ers ranked eighth within the league with an 81.0 adjusted QBR and fifth with a 113.2 passer score. 

“I really feel like I can’t take the big-picture view now—I simply should preserve it sooner or later at a time,” Darnold informed Breer after the romp over the Giants. “That’s a cliché. However it’s a cliché for a purpose, you understand? If I simply proceed to take it a recreation at a time, sooner or later at a time, I really feel like I’ll be in a great place. I’m not going to look massive image or what may be sooner or later as a result of that might be doing me and this group a disservice.” 

As of Tuesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Vikings as six-point residence underdogs in opposition to a 49ers group that dominated the New York Jets en path to incomes a 32-19 win on Monday night time. Whispers about Darnold competing for Comeback Participant of the 12 months Award honors may develop louder if he guides Minnesota to a 2-0 begin this coming weekend.