Brian Burns knows Sam Darnold well: 'Definitely not a guy to sleep on'

Burns and Darnold played together for two seasons in Carolina. Now they go head-to-head in the season opener between the Vikings and Giants.

Aug 10, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) warms up before the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Life will come full circle for Sam Darnold on Sunday when he attempts to lead the Vikings to victory over the Giants at the stadium he called home the first three seasons of his career. This time, he'll be surrounded by high-end offensive talent and guided by a competent coaching staff.

He didn't have those benefits playing at MetLife Stadium with the Jets from 2018-20. And Brian Burns, the biggest free-agent acquisition of the New York Giants in the offseason, knows the same can be said about he and Darnold's time together with the Carolina Panthers.

“He’s definitely not a guy to sleep on,” Burns, whose career overlapped with Darnold in Carolina in 2021 and 2022, told the New York Post. “Sam’s talented. He can run and he’s sneaky athletic. The best thing we can do … is to affect him, get in his face, disrupt his timing. If you give him a clean pocket, he can tear you up.” 

Those bad Panthers squads finished 5-12 in 2021 and 7-10 in 2022.

The 2022 team started 3-8 without Darnold before winning four of the last six games when Darnold took over as the starter. What's interesting is that those Panthers were 1-6 when Baker Mayfield started.

Mayfield didn't live up to the hype of being the No. 1 overall pick while playing for dysfunctional Browns and Panthers teams, but he thrived last season when finally afforded a chance to play for a competent organization in Tampa Bay.

The Vikings are hoping the same dynnamic develops with Darnold.