From the very moment Sam Darnold was signed, the Vikings have been hyping him up as a prime comeback player of the year candidate with a perfect opportunity to get his young NFL career back on track.

After all, the former No. 3 pick has never been able to play in such a friendly system that boasts superstar talent such as Justin Jefferson to go with T.J. Hockenson and a rising star in Jordan Addison. Having a Pro Bowl running back in Aaron Jones will only make life easier too.

To add to hype, Darnold had a red-hot Vikings minicamp, where he reportedly threw just one interception. And according to legend, it wasn’t even his fault.

But what about J.J. McCarthy? Well, that story’s still the same. The Vikings took a raw 21-year-old, the youngest drafted quarterback prospect in the entire 2024 class, who’s college coach never let him throw the ball. He won’t be ready right away. As fans, we are going to have to be patient. How patient?

What are the chances that J.J. McCarthy starts week one for the Minnesota Vikings?

While we are all eager to see what the best QB in Michigan Wolverines history (according to Jim Harbaugh) can do as the leader of the Minnesota Vikings, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer can see the writing on the wall inside the Vikings’ facility.

While answering mailbag questions on Wednesday, Breer wrote that there’s almost no chance McCarthy wins the starting job by Week 1, barring injury. In total, he gives it a 10% chance we see the rookie start the season under center.

— From JJ McCARTHY SZN (@TheBoyDylan54): What percent chance you give J.J. McCarthy of starting Week 1?

I’d say less than 10%.

And that’s not any affront to McCarthy, who, by all accounts, had a fine spring in Minnesota.

SI’s Albert Breer on J.J. McCarthy/Vikings’ QB competition

Based on all appearances, the Vikings fully intend to give Darnold every possible chance to run away with the starting position until McCarthy makes it obvious that he’s more equipped to help the Vikings win games.

Related: Top 10 Minnesota Vikings 1st Round Draft Picks of All-Time

Yet, some still staunchly believe that it’s only a matter of time, this season, before McCarthy becomes the Vikings’ QB1. Many will even fight you on the chances he starts Minnesota’s regular-season opener against the Giants on September 8.

Sam Darnold is the guy

But for those of us who have been paying attention to the Minnesota Vikings QB depth chart, that seems unlikely, unless everything we are hearing out of TCO Performance Center is a lie. The Vikings want McCarthy to earn the job every step of the way, and they won’t toss the recently signed Darnold aside, just to see what they have in their rookie. This isn’t just about J.J.. This is about head coach Kevin O’Connell and his plan for both QBs.

Related: Minnesota Vikings Already ‘Love’ Their New Longshot NFL Prospect X

“More so, [this is] about Kevin O’Connell and Sam Darnold. The former put together a detailed, step-by-step development plan for McCarthy that’ll require the quarterback to hit certain milestones before the team presses him into real action. The latter had a really good spring, too, delivering on how the Minnesota Vikings projected him, as Darnold came from a year in Kyle Shanahan’s system with the San Francisco 49ers.

And if you want to see what Minnesota sees in Darnold, go watch the fourth quarter of the Ravens’ rout of the Niners on Christmas night. Yes, it was garbage time. But what I saw, and what I know Minnesota saw, was a talented kid who came into the league raw suddenly playing faster and with much better rhythm than we’d seen in the past.

Now, I’m not saying Darnold is going to morph into Joe Montana or anything like that. But I do think he’ll do enough to keep the bar high for McCarthy to get on the field.”

SI’s Albert Breer on Sam Darnold/Vikings’ QB competition

The #Vikings told @AlbertBreer (SI) that Sam Darnold's Xmas Day performance vs Baltimore last season helped convince them that his footwork and decision-making have improved enough to make him a legit QB1 option. pic.twitter.com/Gxe06vLtWN

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) March 18, 2024

While everyone wants to see if McCarthy is the future quarterback of the Vikings right away, it makes a lot more sense to see if they can recuperate some value with Darnold turning into the next Baker Mayfield reclamation project that returns to star status. In other words, the Vikings having multiple quarterbacks to pick from is a good problem to have.

Some experts have absolutely no faith in what the Vikings are doing, and neither do the sportsbooks, who pin them on just 6.5 wins. Others are more optimistic and want to buy all of the Sam Darnold hype that those inside TCO Performance Center are trying to sell.

NFL Insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated (MMQB) isn’t willing to make any bold predictions on what the 2024 Minnesota Vikings are capable of, but he did mention them in his latest article as a team whose future he feels good about.

Of course, Breer named the obvious teams before them. The 49ers have been good since Shanahan got there and there’s no reason to believe that will end anytime soon. Kansas City has Patrick Mahomes and Cincinnati has Joe Burrow. Yawn.

He also tags the Ravens too, who have the elder Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson; then the Packers (everyone’s favorite little squad, recently), and the Philadelphia Eagles, whose future depends on Jalen Hurts and his ability to produce more than just a tush push.

The San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, the two Super Bowl teams, stick out as easy picks. I still love where the Cincinnati Bengals are, so long as Joe Burrow’s injury luck turns. The Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles have all earned the benefit of the doubt over the years.

Albert Breer – MMQB (Sports Illustrated)

Related: Vikings Push More Sam Darnold Hype Through ESPN Insider

Minnesota Vikings future looking bright?

Some of the final teams listed by the longtime NFL insider as having bright futures are the Jim Harbaugh led Chargers and CJ Stroud’s Stefon Diggs’ Houston Texans, But there, at the very bottom, are the MN Vikings, who Breer names as his “curveball” pick, writing that he really likes how they are positioned going forward.

Jim Harbaugh’s track record and Justin Herbert’s talent would earn the Los Angeles Chargers a spot on the list. The Houston Texans are there for me, too, given the acumen of C.J. Stroud, DeMeco Ryans and Nick Caserio. And if you want one curveball, I really like how the Minnesota Vikings are positioned moving forward.

Albert Breer – MMQB (Sports Illustrated)

I am very much intrigued by what Breer would say if asked to expound on why he lists the Minnesota Vikings as a footnote in the teams whose futures he is hyped up about. I mean, you can guess at what he would say about the purple.

He probably likes the combination of head coach Kevin O’Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores, and what they might be able to do with a GM like Kwesi Adofo-Mensah who is malleable and already proven a quick learner on the job.

Throw in cornerstones on offense like Justin Jefferson, Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill and it isn’t that hard to reach a dangerous amount of optimism. But more than anything else, Breer probably isn’t a Sam Darnold or J.J. McCarthy hater.

Related: Longtime NFL Writer Dumps LARGE Tub of Cold Water on Optimistic MN Vikings Fans

Because if you believe in either or both of those two, and their futures, then it’s difficult not to believe in what the Minnesota Vikings will be 2-3 years down the road. If you do not believe in those QBs, then optimism is probably difficult to find.

What’s also notable about this list of teams… none of them are the Chicago Bears or Detroit Lions, two teams that are in the NFC North and, much like the Packers, are on a lot of radars for “future favorites”. You know, I always knew I liked Albert Breer.

But the past few weeks have been much different, since Kirk Cousins flew the coup to Atlanta. Now, the pressure to uncover Minnesota’s next franchise quarterback is at its peak, and the Vikings can’t afford to mess this one up.

Since we’re not inside team headquarters, at TCO Performance Center in Eagan, all we can do is pore over insider reports from across the NFL world. And on Monday, one of the most plugged-in media members in the industry around this time of year, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, dropped all sorts of new insider knowledge about how the Vikings are approaching the upcoming draft.

Albert Breer is a big fan of Vikings’ QB courting process

Specifically, he hit on how they are getting to know and evaluating quarterbacks. As we’ve noted a few times at MSF, that approach includes Kwesi and O’Connell getting their time in with each top prospect via private workout, not during each QB’s individual pro day.

“I really like the approach the Minnesota Vikings have taken to studying the quarterback class. You might have noticed, over the past couple of weeks, that Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell and GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah were absent from the big quarterback pro days, which seemed to fly in the face of the aggressive approach they took to position themselves for a trade up after the move with the Texans in mid-March.”

“The Minnesota contingent, with Adofo-Mensah, O’Connell and McCown heading up the traveling party, had extensive meeting time with the quarterbacks before taking them out on the field. The field work included the coaches and players applying what had been taught in the classroom, and then the ability to put what they could explain between the lines.”

Albert Breer (Sports Illustrated)

While we don’t know how these individual visits went, common sense would tell us that meeting with a QB privately would be a better use of time together than doing it in a group setting, or in a less-conducive environment for 1v1 communicating.

Bo Nix added to Minnesota Vikings list of 3-Day QB workouts

You’ve heard all the reports about their various visits or attempted meetings with prospects such as Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy, and Michael Penix Jr. Now, according to Breer, we can add Bo Nix to that list.

Related: Rick Spielman is Trying to Ship Out Justin Jefferson in Latest Vikings Mock Trade

Oh, and there have been questions about how long the Minnesota Vikings have spent with these quarterbacks, during these private workouts. Breer answered that too. Three days, which is a lot of time to get to know someone.

“Rather than go to the cattle calls that pro days often become, Minnesota dispatched quarterbacks coaches Josh McCown and Grant Udinski to [pro days], and then rolled out a larger group for a three-day whirlwind tour to work out quarterbacks privately. The itinerary included stops in Chapel Hill to meet Drake Maye, Ann Arbor to get with J.J. McCarthy, Seattle to put Penix through the paces and Eugene to see Bo Nix.”

Albert Breer (Sports Illustrated)

Clearly, this staff is doing all due-diligence possible, before making their decision on who their new franchise QB will be. Knowing that gives me a sense of calm, for whatever reason.

Then, the SI piece gets into how good of a situation the Vikings’ next QB will have, whoever it is. The Vikings present a really strong spot for any young QB to succeed in; now it’s just about finding the right player who can execute on a weekly basis.

Related: NFL Insider Believes Vikings Might Already Have Tentative Trade(s) in Place for Draft Night

We may not have all the answers, but after their extensive process, hopefully, the Vikings do. He also notes that, just because the staff spent all that time with these guys already doesn’t mean they won’t bring any of them in for a top-30 visit.

In the end, you figure it gave the Vikings a really good picture of what each guy might look like in Minnesota’s offense, and the team’s culture, with the officials on the ground knowing that they still had the ability to bring the players to Minneapolis for “30” visits in their back pockets if they needed to know more (those haven’t been scheduled yet, but could be).

Albert Breer (Sports Illustrated)