Both the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants are out of the running for the Super Bowl this season, and both teams are already squarely focused on next season. The Vikings are coming off a successful season, with a 14-3 record, while the Giants closed out the season with Minnesota’s exact opposite record, at 3-14. Of course, the Vikings had an embarrassing showing in the playoffs, but it happens, and they’re moving on from it.
As both teams look to the future, some NFL analysts and experts think the Vikings’ possible loss in the offseason could be the Giants’ gain.
Minnesota Vikings QB Still a Favorite for New York Giants
In a January 14 feature for Bleacher Report, NFL analyst Gary Davenport discusses his top landing spots for Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, who could certainly part ways with the team in the offseason.
In the piece, Davenport admits that even though Darnold had “far and away the best season of his NFL career,” the quarterback also “flopped in the Minnesota Vikings’ two biggest games of the season—the regular-season finale against the Detroit Lions and a Wild Card Round blowout at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams.”
Even though Darnold wrapped up the season without the best look, he still had a career-high 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns. He also helped get the Vikings the second-most regular-season wins in the history of the franchise.
Here’s where the Giants come in. Davenport doesn’t mince words when talking about the New York Giants’ need for a solid quarterback.
“The Giants are a mess with needs galore on both sides of the ball. Quarterback is most assuredly among them,” he stated. “But the team’s Week 17 win over Indianapolis dropped the G-Men to third in the 2025 draft.”
Due to the draft order and the fact that the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns are “just as hard up under center, New York could be looking at the third-best option in a less-than-stellar class at the position” in the draft.
Giants May Not Take a QB in the Draft
So, maybe the Giants won’t take a quarterback in the draft. They could take Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, who the Bleacher Report’s mock draft has them picking as a compliment to Malik Nabers.
“Hunter and Malik Nabers could be a terrifying duo at wideout, if there’s someone there with a prayer of getting them the ball,” Davenport noted.
In that case, the Giants could bring on Darnold, even if it’s expensive. They have more than $40 million in cap space.
In a January 15 feature for the New York Jets on Sports Illustrated, Colin Keane gives his take on the deal. He states, “If Davenport’s vision of the Giants pairing Hunter with Nabers also manifests, New York would at least be treating its fan base to a more entertaining product in 2025 than the disaster of 2024.”
NFL analyst and expert Wynston Wilcox of FanSided also supports the idea of Darnold coming to the Giants.
“Darnold can win, something Jones struggled with,” Wilcox stated in a January 14 feature. “This is an interesting move with the Giants retaining both Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen. But it also means, if they can’t win with Darnold, it was never the players. And it’s time to clean house.”
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