PALM BEACH, Fla.—While Sam Darnold is no longer with the Minnesota Vikings, his former head coach, Kevin O'Connell had nothing but good things to say about the quarterback at the NFL Annual Meeting.
Coming off of the best season of his career, Darnold seems set to have another good season with offensive weapons like Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp and Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell pointed to Darnold's athletic ability, along with his intelligence and leadership as some of Darnold's strengths.
"I think he's a guy that's smart, has command of the system, athletically gifted, but most importantly can make every throw, can touch every blade of grass you need him to, both in and out of the pocket as the Seahawks kind of learned a year ago, playing us."
And while it may be a sore spot for Seahawks fans, O'Connell pointed to the Seahawks 27-24 loss to the Vikings, where Darnold led a game winning touchdown drive, as a key example of what exactly Darnold is capable of.