J.J. McCarthy is Earning 1st-Team Reps
To be clear, Sam Darnold is still the favorite even if J.J. McCarthy has been getting a lot of praise.
The veteran has been around the NFL, putting in work with the Jets, Panthers, and 49ers before latching on in Minnesota to become a Viking. The coaches have been enthusiastic about the veteran and teammates have similarly been complimentary in their assessment. Nevertheless, it’s at least somewhat notable that McCarthy — the rookie passer scooped up at No. 10 — is getting some run with the 1s.
J.J. McCarthy & The 1st-Team Reps
Begin with the pre-training camp word about the hierarchy.
Before leaving for the break, Sam Darnold was tabbed as the top option. “We haven’t had to put out a depth chart or anything like that,” O’Connell notes, “but yeah I would say Sam would be the guy I would look to based upon the spring he’s had. And really where’s he at in his career, in his quarterback journey. And what he’s been able to do coming in and really hit the ground running and really kind of take advantage of a competitive situation.”
More recently, Kevin O’Connell spoke with the media and was once again asked to elucidate how he understands his quarterback hierarchy.
“Sam had a great spring,” O’Connell explains, “J.J. came in here after being drafted and had a really productive spring, as well. So really my message to those guys is, ‘I want a really competitive situation.’ Sam will obviously be taking the majority of his reps with that 1st group but I think you’ll see J.J. maybe get some, as well.”
The head coach goes on: “But also it’s about the quality as much as the volume of those reps throughout camp.” In other words, McCarthy needs to make the most of the opportunities that he gets, regardless of how many get sent in his direction.
McCarthy getting any work with the top players is notable. After all, he had tossed just a single pass to Justin Jefferson before leaving for the break, a sure sign that he was being viewed as a backup.
The consensus, though, is that the 21-year-old has been having a strong offseason. There has been no shortage of praise, including for the velocity with which he throws.
Whoever is tossing the football is going to be well supported. O’Connell has proven to be a great coach and then there’s the abundance of skill: Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, and Aaron Jones. In Week 1, there could be some absences — Hockenson, Addison — but at full strength Minnesota is a top team for skill.
Recently, J.J. McCarthy put pen to paper on his rookie deal. He’ll be carrying a cap hit of nearly $4 million into the season. Meanwhile, Sam Darnold agreed to a single-season deal that’s paying $10 million but with just a $5 million cap charge in 2024.
The Vikings finished 22nd in the NFL in 2023 by averaging 20.2 points per game. Even with the QB uncertainty, there is very little reason why Minnesota shouldn’t be among the better teams in this regard, so look for some improvement regardless of who is tossing the football.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.
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