The crowd was roaring like it’d just seen a knockout in a heavyweight fight. “Even the highly drafted guys need the perfect cocktail a lot of times for them to shine,” said former Jets center Jonotthan Harrison, “and very few of them get a sip of it.” GO DEEPER Why Sam Darnold is a vital piece of the Vikings’ draft …
EAGAN, Minn. — And so it begins. Head Coach Kevin O'Connell says Sam Darnold will start at QB before J.J. McCarthy gets a significant amount of work in the preseason opener on Saturday. That’s what the Vikings have done with Rodriguez, and he has garnered enough respect for defensive coordinator Brian Flores to occasionally toss him in with the first-stringers. …
The 49ers went through four different quarterbacks last season. “There are some unknowns with Brock’s injury and Trey coming back,” Darnold acknowledged in his introductory videoconference on Thursday. When a reporter asked Darnold if 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan had indicated that he’d have a chance to compete for the 49ers’ starting QB job, the answer merely conveyed the general questions …
