Could New Vikings Already Be in Jeopardy of Losing Starting Roles?
The Minnesota Vikings have had a very busy offseason. Not only were they a very active team in free agency back in March, but April’s draft proved to be a historic one for the franchise.
All told, the Vikings made seven total selections throughout the draft and landed a pair of potential franchise cornerstones in this spring’s NFL Draft by selecting QB J.J. McCarthy and OLB Dallas Turner. As a result of these selections, though, some believe that a couple new Vikings could already be on the hot seat in terms of losing starting roles.
New Vikings Already on the Hot Seat?
Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report, for example, coined an article laying out eight different veterans whose starting jobs could be in question following the 2024 NFL Draft. Two of those players were Minnesota Vikings.
The first is Sam Darnold, who was signed shortly after Kirk Cousins left Minnesota to join the Atlanta Falcons. With the selection of McCarthy in the draft, Vikings fans inevitably will be itching to see his first snaps on the field sooner than later. The question is if he will pick up the offense quickly enough for Kevin O’Connell and his staff to feel comfortable with him leading the unit.
Davenport wrote on the idea, “The Minnesota Vikings were the fifth team in Round 1 to draft a quarterback, selecting Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy at No. 10. But while addressing the media, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said that the team isn’t going to rush McCarthy out there before he’s ready.”
The analyst continued on Darnold, “It may be that Sam Darnold is one of those quarterbacks who missed because he was run out there before he was ready by the New York Jets. The third overall pick in the 2018 draft started the season opener that year, throwing two touchdown passes in a 48-17 rout of the Detroit Lions. However, it didn’t take things long to go south from there—21 wins in 56 starts, 56 career interceptions and a career passer rating of 78.3. Unless McCarthy struggles in acclimating to the NFL, the slow-and-steady approach is probably going to give way to ‘he’s ready to start.'”
As for the other starter who could be on the hot seat, Davenport sees Andrew Van Ginkel in a tough spot heading into 2024. Of course, the Vikings edge rushing group saw a great deal of turnover throughout this offseason following the departures of Marcus Davenport, Danielle Hunter, and D.J. Wonnum.
Van Ginkel was one of the free agent acquisitions brought in to help fill the void left behind by the trio of departures. However, Turner could compete with Van Ginkel for that starting spot after being selected with the 17th overall pick.
“Andrew Van Ginkel was one of the NFL’s surprise success stories in 2023. After opening the season as an off-ball linebacker with the Miami Dolphins, injuries forced Van Ginkel into a role on the edge. […] Minnesota drafted Alabama edge-rusher Dallas Turner, a wildly athletic youngster who some believe is the top prospect at the position in this class. Van Ginkel is a hard-nosed grinder, but he doesn’t have Turner’s raw talent—and by Week 1 he’ll likely be relegated to a complementary role,” Davenport wrote.
Overall, too many edge rushers is rarely a bad thing for a defense. Turner may be a more capable pass rusher coming into the NFL, but Van Ginkel is a versatile defender who can step back into coverage and stop the run. Brian Flores should have a role for the veteran this season.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.