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Sam Darnold #14 of the San Francisco 49ers.
Minnesota Vikings star T.J. Hockenson is still working his way back from a torn ACL and MCL suffered late last season. He was still an eager part of the Vikings voluntary workouts, though, which began on April 15.
It was one-time Pro Bowler’s first opportunity to work with his new teammates. That includes quarterback Sam Darnold, though the two already have a relationship.
Hockenson also got some insider info from San Francisco 49ers All-Pro George Kittle.
“Great guy,” Hockenson told reporters about Darnold on April 15. “He’s been down to Tight End U a couple times, and so I’ve met him in the past. Great guy. Played with George for a little bit which, obviously, George and I are our best buds. So I know quite a bit about him. And just excited to have him in the building.
“To have another guy like Sam and come in and learn this offense and be around – obviously this is the first day just working with him. But to be able to do that and continue to do that I’m excited about it.”
Hockenson pointed to his previous comments about having confidence in the Vikings quarterbacks when they first lost Kirk Cousins for the season.
The addition of Darnold to Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall suggests Vikings brass feels differently.
Sam Darnold Can Lean on Familiarity With Vikings’ Coaching Staff
GettyHead coach Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings and Brock Purdy #13 of the San Francisco 49ers.
Darnold comes with question marks. His tenures with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers led him to back up Brock Purdy in San Francisco last season. He joins a Vikings squad that runs a similar system and has a strong support system in place.
“I think that’ll be great. I mean, obviously, KO is really good at teaching the offense,” Hockenson said, referring to Head Coach Kevin O’Connell. “These guys are really good at teaching this offense, and it makes sense. And so to have a guy come in and he’ll be able to learn the ins and outs just because of how we teach it, and how it makes sense? You bet.”
O’Connell received strong reviews from players in a survey conducted by the NFLPA and offered his support for Darnold. the head coach scouted Darnold during the pre-draft process in 2018.
Darnold can also lean on Vikings quarterbacks coach Josh McCown.
McCown and Darnold were teammates with the Jets. They even studied film of incoming quarterback prospect Drake Maye as the former was planning on a coaching career in his post-playing days.
O’Connell, McCown, and the Vikings’ skill positions like Hockenson, Justin Jefferson, and Jordan Addison give the Vikings one of if not the strongest setups for a quarterback.
Vikings Offer Strong Support System
GettyJustin Jefferson #18 of the Minnesota Vikings.
“You go to some places and it’s straight memorization and that’s harder,” Hockenson said. “Rather than coming here and, ‘Hey, this means this for a reason, and this is why we do this, and this is why we do that.’ And so that’s huge just as a mental capacity to be able to learn it and then not forget it.
“And then to be able to have us. We’re able to help out in certain situations, and we learned that last year throughout the year. When a guy comes in the quarterback position, they got a lot to look at.”
The Vikings went 3-6 after losing Cousins for the season. Mullens and Hall went 1-4 combined.
Darnold was 0-1 as a starter for the 49ers last season. But he went 4-2 with the Panthers to end the 2022 campaign. He is also stepping into a far better situation with the Vikings.
“It is nice to have to be able to have, obviously, JJ, who’s been in this offense for as long as KO’s been here, me having it for a year and a half, and JA having a year under his belt. And, obviously, the whole line’s been here since KO’s been here,” Hockenson said. “That’s been that’s huge to be able to have a veteran group like that, and to be able to help out in that certain sense.”
Josh Buckhalter covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com with a focus on the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos. He has covered the NBA and NFL since 2016, including bylines at FanSided, Last Word on Sports and Clocker Sports. He’s based in Villa Park, Illinois. Follow Josh on Twitter and Instagram: @JoshGBuck More about Josh Buckhalter
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