The Case for J.J. McCarthy as Vikings’ Week 1 Starter
The Minnesota Vikings have a summer quarterback battle in real-time, an expected outcome after the franchise let Kirk Cousins walk to the Atlanta Falcons in March, signed veteran passer Sam Darnold 12 hours later, and drafted J.J. McCarthy in April.
The Case for J.J. McCarthy as Vikings’ Week 1 Starter
So, it’s Darnold vs. McCarthy at Vikings training camp as of late, and the battle will proceed into the preseason, which gets underway in 11 days.
And while McCarthy is an underdog to earn the Week 1 job as QB1, it’s not that far-fetched to theorize the upset. This is the July case for McCarthy as the starter out of the gate.
1. It’s Not Weird to Start a Top 10 QB from the Draft Right Away
Some have suggested the Vikings should follow the “Green Bay Packers model” of quarterback development — letting the young passer watch and learn for 3+ seasons. That’s fine and dandy, but Green Bay is really the only club that a) Does that b) Gets away with it.
It’s somewhat easy to let another guy observe for multiple seasons when Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers hold the big job. Minnesota doesn’t employ Favre anymore, and Rodgers was always a pain in the rump. The purple team has Sam Darnold.
Over half of quarterbacks drafted within the Top 10 in the last decade took the QB1 baton in Week 1 of their rookie season. Of course, the Vikings are notoriously skittish about firing up that strategy. In fact, they’ve never done it. No rookie quarterback for the Vikings has ever started a Week 1 game for Minnesota.
Doesn’t that mean, though, it’s about damn time?
2. He Looks Great at Training Camp
Tweets like this could currently besiege the Vikings if the organization drafted Drake Maye, who was believed to be on its radar.
Maye’s status in New England is now irrelevant to Minnesota, but this was the perk of choosing McCarthy over Maye. The scouting world predetermined that Maye would likely need a watch-and-learn season. That was not the draft community’s prognosis for McCarthy. His resume screamed game readiness — and here we are, less than six weeks from the regular season, deciding if McCarthy is ready as a rookie.
He’s made all the throws at Vikings training camp and earned the respect of his teammates. His teammate, offensive guard Dalton Risner, even offered a ringing endorsement last week. “J.J., I mean, I see why they drafted the dude in the first round and at the pick that they did. Because he’s a good dude. He’s a good human being. He’s a stud,” Risner told CBS Sports.
Risner added, “I love what they’re doing with him; they’re not just throwing him in the fire right away. I think they’re giving him time to develop. I’d put all my chips on that dude in a couple years, man.”
McCarthy could’ve taken a Mayesian path — very vividly appearing raw and unprepared as a rookie — but that’s simply not the case, at least not yet.
3. Sam Darnold Isn’t a Massive Commodity to Dethrone
Admit it — before March of 2024, you, the Vikings fan, thought Sam Darnold stunk. It wasn’t until daydreams about how he could perform in Minnesota’s offense that folks warmed up to his would-be untapped potential.
If Kirk Cousins was still in town, sure, McCarthy would redshirt, and that would be that. Conversely, Darnold has never latched on successfully as a consistent starter despite his fancy 2018 draft stock. Minnesota’s leadership has endorsed Darnold every step of the way in the last 4.5 months, but it won’t trot Darnold out there against the New York Giants “just because.”
Of all quarterbacks to play the sport, past and present, Darnold is not that daunting to chip off for a youngster like McCarthy. He’s not Favre, Rodgers, or Cousins. He’s Sam Darnold.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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