Kevin O'Connell's comments on Daniel Jones could signal their future at the quarterback position
The quarterback position for the Minnesota Vikings is in quite a unique position. Last year, they had to choose between keeping Kirk Cousins or moving on from him. After a contentious couple of months, the Vikings chose to move on from Cousins and they made the right decision. Because of their choice, now the Vikings […]
The quarterback position for the Minnesota Vikings is in quite a unique position.
Last year, they had to choose between keeping Kirk Cousins or moving on from him. After a contentious couple of months, the Vikings chose to move on from Cousins and they made the right decision.
Because of their choice, now the Vikings are in another crucial decision. Do they keep Sam Darnold or turn to 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy?
Kevin O'Connell praises Daniel Jones
What the Vikings choose to do at quarterback will send a ripple effect across the National Football League. If they choose Darnold, could they consider trading McCarthy? It's highly unlikely, but not impossible.
However, O'Connell's comments when talking to Adam Schein on Mad Dog Sports Radio sends a signal of the opposite, as he praises Daniel Jones, who would likely return as the mentor to McCarthy.
"We got a chance to talk quite a bit before he made his decision to come to Minnesota. And what I learned about him is, you know, just an incredibly smart guy in depth, knows kind of where he wants to go with his career. Decided to come to Minnesota, and when he arrived, I told him, I said, there's sequences to this. There's the first two, three weeks where I just want you to decompress. Yeah, I want you to have the ability to take a breath, come in here, be around your new teammates, build those relationships, relationships up. We're going to start building you up by teaching you the offense and starting to transition you to how we want to play with the Minnesota Vikings at the quarterback position. And then as that time went on, you felt him get more comfortable. That guard dropped down a little bit, and he became one of the guys in that room."
The mental aspect of the game was so important for Jones in his transition away from the New York Giants. It did help that O'Connell had somewhat of a relationship with Jones from the 2019 NFL Draft when he was scouting them with the Washington Commanders.
It's not just about the mental aspect of the game. O'Connell also praised Jones for his ability to throw the ball as well.
"And every single day he was making a throw, whether it was on the scout team, or going to our receivers, whether it was Justin or Jordan, or one of these guys saying, 'Man, this guy can throw the football.' So that's the starting point. That's what I knew about Daniel Jones, the physical talent, big, strong guy, athletic. And then you peel back the layers, and you see you start to see some of that same upside that I saw with Sam. And thought there would be a real opportunity to grow that position through those guys, and I feel the same way about Daniel Jones, and we'll see how it all shakes out."
It was a fascinating idea to bring in Jones for the same reason that Darnold was: O'Connell has turned the Vikings into quarterback rehab. If McCarthy gets hurt or struggles, you have someone who can step up either to play or help him get through a rough patch.
Don't be surprised if Jones returns to Minnesota next year, especially if he doesn't get a starting quarterback job.
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