Vikingsg just Land a star player Courtesy of Sam Darnold

Vikingsg just Land a star player Courtesy of Sam Darnold.

This season, the Minnesota Vikings will try a reclamation project with Sam Darnold. ESPN outlined the worst-case scenario, which might end up being best for Minnesota in the long run.

Seth Walder of ESPN Analytics disclosed the results of one of the 20,000 simulations run by the analytics engine to produce the Football Power Index (FPI) for the 2024 season. The Vikings are ranked 25th in the aggregate of those thousands of simulations.

But FPI simulation No. 515 has Minnesota finishing among the worst teams in the league with only four wins on the season and landing the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft. In a story published on September 3, Walder stated, “Back in the halcyon days of September, there was hope that quarterback Sam Darnold would finally figure it out.” “Darnold really couldn’t figure it out. As the rest of the league adjusted to defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ constant blitzes, the Minnesota Vikings offense collapsed.

“The outcome? A meager four wins in a season. However, hope arrived in the shape of the first overall pick, as Walder noted. J.J. McCarthy appears to be the quarterback of the future, giving the Vikings an opportunity to make a trade in order to bolster the rest of the roster.

Highlighting this particular simulation is a setback for the Vikings, who have witnessed positive developments on both sides of the ball as it leaves the training facility. ESPN’s FPI indicates that they have the best chance of selecting at number eight.

However, it also presents a possible scenario that would be the greatest preparation for the 2025 season, as they have the fifth-most challenging schedule this year.

According to Walder, “the future is bright, but the present is bleak in Minnesota.”