3 Most Overrated Players in the NFC North

3. Sam Darnold, QB — Minnesota Vikings

It's hard to imagine a world where Sam Darnold is overrated, but here we are. With the Kirk Cousins era officially over, the Vikings plan on rolling with Darnold as their No. 1 quarterback next season while 2024 10th-overall selection J.J. McCarthy prepares to make his eventual pro debut.

Even though most of the football world knows what Darnold is (and isn't) capable of, that hasn't stopped the Vikings, their fans, and the media from overhyping him. It was only a few days ago that NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported that sources told him that "Darnold has had a really good spring" while hyping up the 27-year-old's "huge arm" and ability to "make plays."

With all due respect, are we talking about the same ex-USC Trojan? Nothing about Darnold's history suggests that he's known for making big plays. He's played to a 21-35 record through 56 career starts while throwing for over 12,000 yards (182.8 passing yards per game) with 63 TDs to 56 interceptions. His 78.3 career passer rating is also the fourth-worst mark among QBs who've played at least 20 games since 2018.

Yes, Darnold has Justin Jefferson — one of the NFL's top wideouts — at his disposal, but that doesn't change the fact that the former is still overhyped. Even if the veteran signal-caller has his best year to date with the Vikings, it won't mean much if he's still screwing up while Jefferson does all of the work.

I wouldn't be shocked if Darnold comes apart at the seams early on, especially when you consider that he's only started seven games in the last two seasons. If that's the case, the Vikings might be forced to throw McCarthy (who you can also argue is overrated) into the fire prematurely, which would further cause their season to completely fly off the rails.

That certainly doesn't sound like a bad thing to Packers fans.

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