The Vikings are Super Bowl contenders thanks to a QB nobody else wanted

Sunday’s NFC North tilt between the 5-0 Minnesota Vikings and the 4-1 Detroit Lions won’t be only a matchup for divisional supremacy or a possible playoff preview.

It will also be a showdown between two former top draft picks, quarterbacks Jared Goff and Sam Darnold. Goff, who was picked first, and Darnold, selected third, were discarded by their original teams (the Los Angeles Rams and the New York Jets, respectively) before they found homes with their current squads.

Goff, who signed a four-year, $212 million contract extension with the Lions in May after he led them to the NFC championship game last season, is firmly entrenched as Detroit’s starter. Darnold, on the other hand, came into this season as the presumptive placeholder for rookie J.J. McCarthy, only to be thrust into a more significant role after McCarthy sustained a season-ending injury in the preseason.

Still, Darnold’s success this year has seemingly created a pathway for him to become a full-time starter, whether he’s with the Vikings or not. And he only has to look at Goff to see what’s possible.

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When Goff was traded to the Lions in March 2021, he was largely seen as a stopgap who could make the team competitive during a rebuild or, at worst, as a salary dump by the Rams.

Here’s how Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer in part described the Goff trade:

“So at the very least, I think [Detroit coach Dan Campbell has] got a capable bridge quarterback in Jared Goff, who can get him to the next quarterback.”

And this is how the trade was described by The Ringer's Kevin Clark:

“[The Rams] essentially had to pay one first- and one third-round pick for [Matthew] Stafford, and then another first to get out of Goff’s contract. This was a quarterback upgrade with a salary dump on the side.”

There were ample reasons for that to be the conventional wisdom at the time. Goff — who led the Rams to Super Bowl 53 in 2018 — had declined in production in consecutive seasons and had fallen out of favor with Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay. And teams don’t trade their franchise quarterback for draft capital unless they are rebuilding.

The trade more or less lived up to the middling expectations for Detroit initially. Goff wasn’t great his first year with the Lions, going 3-10-1 and throwing only 19 touchdowns, the fewest since his rookie season.

He did have some luck, however.

Detroit, which had the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, chose not to select a quarterback after three were taken before that slot. (The two taken later in the first round — Justin Fields and Mac Jones — were dicier prospects who are already on their second teams.) The Lions didn’t select one in 2022, either, in a QB-poor draft that had only one (Kenny Pickett, also on his second team) taken in the first round.

With no competition at quarterback, Goff took advantage in 2022. He had his best season since 2018 (when he led Los Angeles to the Super Bowl), posting a 9-8 record with 29 touchdowns and only seven interceptions — inspiring confidence he could be more than a bridge. Last year, Goff threw 30 touchdown passes for the first time in five seasons, and led Detroit to its first NFC title game since 1991.

Darnold’s route to Sunday has been more circuitous and less successful. He certainly never made a Super Bowl with the Jets. He never threw for more than 19 touchdowns in a season. And he played for two other teams — the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers — before landing in Minnesota.

With the Vikings, though, Darnold has posted the best passer rating and quarterback rating of his career so far. And in every game except one, he’s thrown for multiple touchdowns.

Yes, McCarthy — the No. 10 pick in April’s draft — is lying in wait. But would Minnesota move on from Darnold if he can lead the team to success in the playoffs? Especially when McCarthy is an unknown as a professional?

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There’s a long way to go, certainly. Darnold hasn’t had the highs of Goff’s past, and there are 10,000 lakes between a 5-0 start and a couple of playoff wins. But Sunday’s game is a massive opportunity for him to prove he can be the quarterback to deliver the Vikings big wins. (Forget only the division, the Lions will enter this matchup as a Super Bowl contender.)

If Minnesota is lucky, its quarterback will take the next step in proving he can be a long-term solution at the position. The Vikings will only have to look across the line of scrimmage to see how far a castoff can take them.