Where Is J.J. McCarthy Starting From?
Last season, the Minnesota Vikings proved that their head coach and infrastructure could make up for a significant amount of mediocrity.
Where Is J.J. McCarthy Starting From?
Sam Darnold was once the third overall pick, but he went to two awful organizations and flamed out. Kevin O’Connell got the most out of him, and the weapons around him provided a significant boost.
J.J. McCarthy was the Minnesota Vikings’ first-round pick in 2024. He was selected with the 10th overall pick and left Michigan as a National Champion. While McCarthy isn’t bringing an NFL track record to the starting role when he takes over, there is plenty of reason to suggest he’s at least capable of the floor Darnold possessed.
Sure, the Michigan Wolverines rode a running game and defense to a national title during Jim Harbaugh’s last season in college. That doesn’t change that McCarthy owned a Big Ten-best 72.3% completion rate, and his 22/4 TD/INT ratio was impressive.
As a college athlete, McCarthy experienced losses just three times. Two of those games came during a freshman season in which he was not a starter. The other was a College Football Playoff semifinal against TCU in which he passed for 343 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Last season, the Vikings saw the benefit of having a quarterback with a level of mobility. While Kirk Cousins represented a true pocket passer, Darnold profiled as Mike Vick in comparison. It’s not as though Darnold was really a scrambler, but his ability to move and avoid pressure was beneficial. McCarthy takes that up even another notch, and he’ll have a vastly improved offensive line in front of him.
Beyond just the talent that McCarthy brings to the table, Minnesota will surround him with the best offensive weapons he has ever seen. Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards were nice in college, but neither equates to Aaron Jones or even Jordan Mason’s success at the next level. The Wolverines had relatively pedestrian wideouts, and even a standout tight end like Colston Loveland doesn’t guarantee more than T.J. Hockenson.
It remains to be seen how the Vikings will round out their quarterback room. McCarthy hasn’t been named the day-one starter. Whenever he takes over, though, he’ll be working with more talent than he has ever seen. He’ll also probably give O’Connell more to work with than he had just a year ago as well.
Things are looking up for the Vikings.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes daily for Minnesota Sports Fan. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
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