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

Sam Darnold, a former No. 1 draft pick now on his fourth team, has Minnesota undefeated through six weeks.

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.

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.

https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/nfl/vikings-sam-darnold-jared-goff-rcna175790

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