The NFL, like the world in which it exists, seemingly favors instant gratification over development.

Ben Goessling of the Minnesota Star Tribune analyzed Tuesday why the inverse of that stance is wiser when it comes to bringing along a quarterback – and he cited a handful of examples to make his point.

The first name he listed is 30-year-old and 2018 No. 1 overall draft pick Baker Mayfield, who's won 60 percent of his starts and boasts an 81:27 TD-INT ratio since joining Tampa Bay, his fourth team, in 2023.

Mayfield was a sub-.500 quarterback with 102 TDs and 64 INTs from 2018-22.

Now, he is getting MVP mentions.

To paint a fuller picture of the patience that can be rewarding in a league that wants quick results, Goessling rattled off the following formerly cast-off QBs: Sam Darnold, Jared Goff and Daniel Jones.

Minnesota knows all three intimately; the former and latter were further developed by Head Coach Kevin O'Connell and staff in the Vikings building last season. Darnold, of course, revived his career in Purple, with personal bests in completion rate (66.2), touchdown percentage (6.4) and passer rating (102.5). And Jones had a proper reset, gleaning insights mid-season after he was released by the Giants.

So far in 2025, Darnold is raising the bar; he's completed 70.8 percent of his passes for Seattle, which is first in the NFC West through Week 6, and generated a 6.8 TD% and 116.0 rating. Meanwhile, Jones has 12 total touchdowns for Indianapolis, which cemented this past Sunday its best start (5-1) since 2009 when Peyton Manning won the Most Valuable Player Award and the Colts advanced to Super Bowl XLIV.

And Goff, the 31-year-old selected 1^st overall in 2016, is putting up his sharpest numbers yet in his fifth season as a rival to the Vikings. He leads the NFL in completion rate (75.9) and passing touchdowns (14).

These examples are the latest proof that patience can go a long way when it comes to quarterbacking.

Here's part of what Goessling wrote on the topic – and how it's relevant to Minnesota:

The four quarterbacks, all selected sixth or higher in their respective drafts, are enjoying success with their second (or third or fourth or fifth) teams after being branded as busts when they were dispatched by the clubs that drafted them. It's true that none of the four became the decade-long QB solution their original teams wanted; only Goff is playing on a market-rate contract. But it's also a reflection on a quarterback ecosystem that steers teams toward impatience, all while the position's complexities mean many QBs perform best after years of development.

It makes for helpful context as the Vikings return from their bye week and bring J.J. McCarthy back to practice four weeks after he suffered a right high ankle sprain in the team's Sept. 14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. The Vikings have played 22 regular-season games since they took McCarthy 10^th overall in the 2024 NFL draft. He has played in just two of them (going 1-1), while the Vikings have gone 16-4 with Darnold and Carson Wentz (playing for his sixth team in as many years after he was taken one pick behind Goff in 2016).

But if the success of QBs like Darnold, Jones, Goff and Mayfield proves there's a life for former top picks who fizzle out with their initial teams, it might also suggest there's wisdom in waiting a while before reaching a firm conclusion on McCarthy.

Goessling's analysis is both timely and sound.

In watching McCarthy whenever he plays his next game, it's important to remember he's been an NFL quarterback for eight quarters. He still hasn't taken the field with star WR2 Jordan Addison or stud LT Christian Darrisaw. His moxie and rushing ability were obvious in the comeback at Chicago, which earned him NFC Player of the Week accolades. And he played through an ankle sprain in Week 2 against Atlanta.

That's to say, patience in his development is principle in a game that typically demands things right away.

Read Goessling's complete analysis of the subject here.

Hierarchy of divisions

Everyone and their mama has fun power ranking teams each week.

Dan Graziano of ESPN recently accepted another challenge: ordering the NFL's eight divisions.

Graziano prefaced his hierarchy of four-team pods with a dream scenario of one division getting all four of its teams into the postseason. Although it's never been done before, there's a belief that it's doable.

Take the NFC North as the chief contender.

Graziano pegged the Black and Blue division, which put 3 of 4 squads into the playoffs a year ago, as football's toughest this year based upon ESPN FPI (Football Power Index) and his own subjective eye test.

Detroit and Green Bay are 2^nd and 3^rd in the NFL in FPI index, and Graziano reasoned Minnesota and Chicago are positioned to improve their 19^th and 20^th rankings as they get deeper into their schedules.

The NFC West, home of the Los Angeles Rams team that upended the Vikings season last January, is second in Graziano's perspective. FYI, the Rams (7^th), 49ers (10^th) and Seahawks (13^th) are Top 15 in FPI.

The rest of Graziano's Top 5 features the AFC West, the NFC East and the AFC North.

In all fairness, because the article was published ahead of Week 6, Graziano may be rethinking the NFC South as his worst division. (Tampa Bay looked dangerous in a win against San Francisco; the Panthers surprised the Cowboys to improve to 3-0 at home; and Atlanta ran by Buffalo on Monday Night Football).

Check out Graziano's full story here.

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