Minnesota Vikings QB shown heavy disrespect by league personnel in latest rankings

The Minnesota Vikings have an interesting quarterback situation. We know that J.J. McCarthy is the future of the franchise going into the 2025 season but he will be in limbo with a torn meniscus ending his rookie season prematurely.

That gives the ball to Sam Darnold who is on his fourth team going into his seventh season. That's not the career path you want to see for a third-overall pick. That path hasn't been entirely his fault. Sure, he's the one on the field throwing the ball, but when you look at how poor his surroundings were at his first two stops, it explains a lot.

Sam Darnold disrespected in QB rankings

Each year, The Athletic's Mike Sando releases quarterback tiers consisting of 50 personnel:

• 7 general managers
• 8 head coaches
• 12 coordinators
• 12 executives
• 8 assistant coaches
• 3 involved in coaching/analytics

When you have 50 different personnel helping construct a list like this, it helps create a thorough list. However, there can still be some that are unfairly overlooked. One of those is Darnold, who ranked 29th in the latest rankings.

Here are some of the things that were said about Darnold

“He played before he was ready in New York, and then Carolina was a rough deal,” a head coach said. “He got himself back on course with the 49ers. That was healthy for him.”.

“Sometimes I think he’s a 3 in the right situation,” an exec said. “It would not surprise me if he has a decent year with Kevin (O’Connell). I’m teetering between 3 and 5. I’ll go out on a limb and say he’s a 3 this year.”

“He has been with multiple teams, and we are still waiting for the guy,” a defensive coordinator said. “He’s just jittery, man.”

The one interesting thing about Darnold is how much those around the league do believe in his potential being maximized versus being a washout. He finished with the same amount of votes in both tier three and five, signaling a disconnect in where he could be.

The disrespect is currently rooted in what Darnold has done in subpar situations. The Adam Gase-led New York Jets and Matt Rhule-led Carolina Panthers were brutal and Darnold still showed flashes.

His time with the San Francisco 49ers last season had some in league circles excited about his potential coming out of his limited reps. The Vikings are arguably the best infrastructure he's ever played in and the weapons are tremendous.

It's not just that he's ranked so low but who he ended up being behind. It's fair that he's behind the likes of Tennessee's Will Levis and Indianapolis' Anthony Richardson. They have loads of talent and potential that has yet to be tapped due to them entering the second season of their careers. Behind Pittsburgh's Justin Fields, New York Giants' Daniel Jones and Las Vegas' Gardner Minshew considering factors like circumstance, surroundings and overall talent, it feels absurd. Darnold is likely to outplay all of those players when you factor all of that in.

Related: Minnesota Vikings Roster Cuts Tracker 2024: Keeping tabs on all of the moves to get to 53