Sam Darnold was very likely to start Week 1 for the Minnesota Vikings no matter what happened this month. The team seemed set on having first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy sit and learn.
But we all know how that often goes. If the rookie plays well in preseason — McCarthy looked very sharp in his NFL preseason debut last week — then the drumbeat to make the change will go on through every mistake the veteran makes. It was going to happen to Darnold unless he played at a very high level.