All signs have pointed to Sam Darnold starting at quarterback for the Vikings for some time and it became official this week when the team announced that J.J. McCarthy will miss the entire season after having surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee.
Those developments affect the entire team and they have a particular impact on wide receiver Justin Jefferson as the play of the quarterback will weigh heavily on his success this season. Darnold’s history is checkered in that regard, but Jefferson said this week that he has confidence that they will build a strong connection during their first season as teammates.
“It’s going very well,” Jefferson said to Evan Washburn of CBS Sports. “A lot of people don’t understand that there’s a lot of things that go into a quarterback and a receiver’s connection than just sitting back there and just throwing the ball to a spot. They have to really learn the timing of everything, how I run the routes, where I’m gonna be at in the routes. That’s just us learning each other, learning how he throws the ball, learning how I run the routes. I definitely feel confident in going into Week One with Sam as our quarterback. I feel like he’s been making plays throughout training camp. I don’t have any worry in my mind at all.”
Jefferson said one of his messages for Darnold and all the quarterbacks he plays with is to “give me a chance to go up and make a play for us.” That strategy has paid off for the Vikings in the past and it would be a wise one for Darnold to employ as the season unfolds in Minnesota.