Training camp is almost here and many NFL organizations have a few camp battles as it relates to the quarterback position. While the Minnesota Vikings have one of the toughest decisions to make in all of football, there has been less discussion around other training camp quarterback battles. We will take a look at the Vikings and Raiders and predict who the day one starter is going to be.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS – J.J. McCARTHY vs. SAM DARNOLD 

The top quarterback battle heading into training camp is the Vikings with rookie J.J. McCarthy versus veteran Sam Darnold. The one thing that Darnold has over McCarthy is his NFL experience. Entering year seven, and being on three different NFL teams prior to joining the Vikings, Darnold’s experience whether positive or negative is still experience against NFL defenses and football organizations. He has seen the exotic blitz packages, he has been sacked many times, he understands how to prepare and lead an offensive group of athletes, and his negative plays hopefully made him grow and adapt over the years.

McCarthy has a whole lot of strengths as well as he enters his rookie campaign. He is a proven winner at the college level with the Michigan Wolverines. He compiled a 27-1 record, with his only loss being in 2022 against TCU 51-45 in the College Football Playoffs Semifinal Fiesta Bowl. While winning in the college level and securing a Championship is the ultimate goal and McCarthy and his football team accomplished that, it is always worth noting that Darnold’s college win to loss record was also impressive. Darnold and the USC Trojans went 20-4 during his two seasons as the starting quarterback. Just wanted to point this out.

If you’re interested in a full detailed breakout of this specific quarterback competition, I wrote an article titled: ‘Why The Vikings Quarterback Situation Is A Tough Decision To Make’ in which I discuss why Darnold should be the day one starter.

Prediction: Sam Darnold is the Day 1 Starter in 2024

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS – AIDAN O’CONNELL vs. GARDNER MINSHEW 

Many NFL fans continue to mention the Vikings and the McCarthy and Darnold competition but fail to mention one of the more underrated competitions heading into 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders have a second-year quarterback that showed promise at times in Aidan O’Connell and paired him with a veteran signal-caller in Gardner Minshew.

Minshew has been at numerous stops in his short NFL career, but at each stop he makes, he has provided positivity and offensive production. Statistically speaking, Minshew not only is better due to years played, but he has a knack of leading a football team through adversity and turmoil. After the Indianapolis Colts franchise rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson went down with a season-ending injury, Minshew not only stepped in, he stepped up as well. The Colts finished with a 9-8 record, seven of those wins were from Minshew leading the way.

Even though Minshew threw 15 touchdowns to 9 interceptions and over 3,305 yards in thirteen games played, it still was an improvement from O’Connell who put up similar numbers.

Aidan O’Connell enters his second season in Vegas and is looking to secure the franchise quarterback role and be the main leader on a team that finished with an 8-9 record in 2023. O’Connell is getting rave reviews from teammates this offseason, specifically from wide receiver Davante Adams, who supposedly ‘loves’ what he sees. He has a “leg up” in the competition as training camp approaches and it will be interesting to see how the coaching staff determines the week one starter.

As for me, I think the Raiders and head coach Antonio Pierce should go with Gardner Minshew as the week one starter. He is someone who has proved that he can win football games and stay consistent from a statistical approach. O’Connell last year was thrown into the fire, so to speak, but did make very poor decisions at times. With Minshew, you are getting a veteran who has seen a lot of things and who is still relatively young at 28-years-old.

Prediction: Gardner Minshew is the Day 1 Starter in 2024

Let us know in the comment section below if you agree with the predictions or if you are leaning more toward the younger quarterbacks to start week one.