Justin Jefferson believes in Sam Darnold.
Darnold will be the Vikings’ starter for the time being after first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy underwent season-ending knee surgery this week to repair a torn meniscus.
Jefferson, who played with several quarterbacks last season after Kirk Cousins was sidelined with a torn Achilles, sounded optimistic about his connection with Darnold.
“It’s going well,” Jefferson said. He told CBS.
“A lot of people don’t understand that there’s a lot of elements that go into the quarterback-receiver combination, not just sitting back and throwing the ball to a certain spot. They have to really learn the timing of everything, how to run the route, where they are on the route.”
“It’s just us both learning each other. Him learning how to throw the ball and me learning how to run routes. I’m definitely more confident going into Week 1 with Sam as our quarterback. I feel like he’s been playing well throughout training camp. I’m not worried at all.”
Darnold played three years with the Jets, two seasons with the Panthers and served as the backup to Brock Purdy with the 49ers last year.
Nick Mullens and Jalen Hall, who started a combined five games for the Vikings last season, remain on the team’s roster.
Even though the Vikings don’t have a solid top-tier starting quarterback, Jefferson is one of the betting odds-on favorites to lead the NFL in receiving yards this season.
