Does the Vikings’ QB Hierarchy Soon See a Shuffle?
Daniel Jones is a better quarterback than Brett Rypien. One wonders, then, if the Vikings’ QB hierarchy could reasonably experience a shuffle at some point in the not-too-distant future.
In theory, a team wants to button up every shortcoming possible before entering pivotal contests. Sam Darnold is the top passer and Nick Mullens is the main backup; neither of those realities are going to change in 2024 unless an injury occurs. What about the emergency third QB? Should the recently-acquired Jones take on that title before the playoffs arrive?
Daniel Jones & The Vikings’ QB Hierarchy
Jones leaves a little something to be desired as a QB1. As a QB3, though, he’s an excellent option.
The passer stands at 6’5″ and weighs 230 pounds, otherwise known as the perfect build to be an NFL passer. He got snagged at No. 6 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, a decision that now looks like a major reach. Nevertheless, the draft slot points toward tremendous potential even if it ended up being too high. There’s talent present.
Shortly after arriving in Minnesota, Jones met with the media. He spoke with poise and calm as he navigated various questions across a bit more than five minutes of dialogue. One has to assume that chatting with the Minnesota press was a welcome reprieve in comparison to the bright lights of New York scrutiny.
One point he made is that he needs some time to learn the Vikings’ system. “Yeah, it’ll be new for me,” Jones explained, “I think it’s just about time. It’s about putting in the time to learn it, to study it. I’m catching up and these guys are game planning, focusing on winning, so I don’t want to slow anything down with that. It’s on me to catch up, to take the time outside of meetings, outside of practice, to learn it. And that’s what I’ll do.”
Within that answer, Jones offers maturity. He understands that the situation he’s stepping into is larger than himself. Minnesota is navigating a winning season and building weekly game plans as they seek to solidify their spot in the final tournament. Jones thus understands that he needs to put in the extra hours on his own time to catch up.
Rypien, in contrast to Jones, won’t need extra time to learn the system. The QB3 has been in town since the beginning of the season, so he should be well educated in Vikings football.
The more time passes, though, the more that upper hand — familiarity with the O’Connell scheme — will dissolve. Yes, it’s difficult to fully master an offense on the fly, but Jones has been in the NFL for several seasons and understands that he needs to put in the hours. He should be able to catch on relatively quickly, especially since the culture in Minnesota — a component of the team that inspires great pride in the team’s top leaders — is so healthy.
With all of that in mind, the question: does the Vikings’ QB hierarchy see any change in the coming weeks? Put differently, does Jones get elevated to the active roster ahead of the postseason, thereby offering Minnesota a QB3 who has more potential?
Brett Rypien, an UDFA, has played in ten games in his NFL career. His career involves completing 58.3% of his passes for 950 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. Rypien’s career passer rating stands at 59.9.
Daniel Jones offers a more tantalizing statistical background. The former Giant has a career 22-44-1 record, an unimpressive total; the upside is simply that he has far more playing experience. His career involves completing 64.1% of his passes for 14,582 yards, 70 touchdowns, and 47 interceptions. Jones’ career passer rating stands at 84.3.
Jones has played 4,399 NFL snaps in his career; Rypien has played 339 NFL snaps in his career.
Plus, Jones can run. The proud owner of a 4.81 forty, Jones has put together 399 rushing attempts in his six seasons, piling up 2,179 yards on the ground alongside 15 rushing touchdowns. The average Jones carry goes for 5.5 yards.
Daniel Jones isn’t a perfect quarterback; Daniel Jones is a talented quarterback. Does it make sense to elevate him to QB3 in the coming weeks just in case something happens to the top two options in the same game?
The passer is still only 27.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.