Today, news broke that Vikings' QB J.J. McCarthy will be undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. Once inside the knee, doctors discovered that a full repair would be necessary. This decision means that McCarthy's 2024 season has come to an end before it even began.
Though McCarthy will miss the entire 2024 season, the Vikings brass insists he'll be back better than before.
Long before we got news of McCarthy needing surgery, I have been very bullish that I believed QB Sam Darnold would be the Vikings QB1 to start the season. Vikings beat reporters had made that pretty clear recently as well. So it wasn't just a gut feeling.
What was a gut feeling, was that I believed if Darnold got the opportunity to start, it was in his range of outcomes to start all year and have a bounce-back year similar to quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Geno Smith had with new teams and fresh starts.
I have mentioned this on Twitter and on shows several times this summer. I stated that I would be taking Sam Darnold some in Round 18 on Underdog Fantasy in Vikings stacks. I currently have 10% Sam Darnold exposure (in Vikings stacks on Underdog Fantasy).
I'll give one that may be an unpopular take…but I like drafting this guy in the 18th rd of timebox contests in Vikings stacks!
What if he doesn't see ghosts anymore with Jefferson, Vikings weapons, and OConnell as his HC?! 🤷🏼♀️
We're all telling a story with 18th rd picks 😂 pic.twitter.com/xmlR7hljuW— Megan Shoup (@megs08DFS) July 4, 2024
I wish McCarthy the speediest of recoveries and while he'll likely win the job next season, the QB1 role belongs to Darnold for now. With McCarthy out for the season, it makes the benching risk much less than many people predicted for Darnold.
I have moved J.J. McCarthy off the board and I've moved Sam Darnold up to 195 in my rankings. Bottom line, get Sam Darnold shares at the end of Best Ball drafts in your Vikings stacks. See the rest of 2024 Best Ball top 250 rankings on SportsLine.