Vikings search for Sam Darnold insurance gets stamp of approval from Kevin O’Connell

Through the first five weeks of the 2024 campaign, Sam Darnold looked like a legitimate MVP candidate. He was leading the league in touchdown passes and led the Minnesota Vikings to a shocking 5-0 record.

The Vikings are still riding high since their hot start and are currently 9-2 with a four-game winning streak after defeating the Chicago Bears, but it feels as if their recent success has had a lot more to do with their defense than their offense.

Given that, it comes as little surprise that the Vikings appear to be far from comfortable with Sam Darnold under center. Darnold has still exceeded expectations overall, but he has just four more touchdown passes (10) than interceptions (six) in Minnesota's last six games, and the Vikings have scored more than 23 points just twice in that stretch.

Daniel Jones suddenly becoming available in the middle of the season has the Vikings intrigued, and they are considered legitimate threats to sign him. While the starting spot would still be Darnold's even if Jones came aboard, pursuing him would prove that they don't fully trust their current starter. It appears as if that pursuit has the stamp of approval from head coach Kevin O'Connell.

Kevin O'Connell appears to be on board with Vikings Daniel Jones pursuit

He didn't confirm anything about Minnesota's situation if the team did land Jones, but he did go on to say that he's a huge fan of his. He could just be saying that to be nice, but given the team's interest in signing him and Darnold's iffy recent history under center, it certainly appears as if O'Connell would love to see what Jones can offer.

Nothing about Jones' season would suggest that he's worth giving a starting spot to on a 9-2 team. He has completed 63.3 percent of his throws for 2,070 yards and eight touchdowns to go along with seven interceptions in 10 games played for the New York Giants. Much of his Giants tenure was incredibly hard to watch.

While there's reason to be concerned with Jones starting games in Minnesota, it's important to note that his dysfunction came on a team that had little around him when it came to play-calling and personnel. Darnold's career numbers looked brutal prior to the season, but he has played the best football of his career with O'Connell calling plays and Justin Jefferson leading a strong supporting cast. Jones has enough raw potential to give O'Connell reason to believe he can squeeze strong quarterback play out of him.

If Darnold continues to be shaky for Minnesota, why not see what O'Connell and a real supporting cast can do for Jones if the Vikings were to land him? The worst-case scenario would be a bad game or two and then the team goes right back to Darnold. He wouldn't be locked in long-term.

Having a great offensive mind like O'Connell speak that highly of Jones should get Vikings fans excited about the 27-year-old if the team were to sign him.