New Vikings Duo Earns Prestigious Ranking
The Minnesota Vikings turned the page on the veteran quarterback era this offseason, allowing Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones, and Nick Mullens to join new teams via free agency, while resisting the plea from Aaron Rodgers to sign in the Twin Cities.
CBS Sports ranked an interesting grouping of “duos” last week, and the Vikings were included.
Minnesota will roll with 22-year-old J.J. McCarthy; that youngster will sink or swim in September.
And according to CBS Sports, McCarthy and his head coach, Kevin O’Connell, are the NFL’s second-best new head coach + quarterback duo this season.
Kevin O’Connell + J.J. McCarthy Rank No. 2 among HC-QB Duos
CBS Sports‘ Cody Benjamin ranked all such duos last week, and the Vikings were handsomely represented at No. 2, just behind the Dallas Cowboys’ tandem of Dak Prescott and new skipper Brian Schottenheimer.
Benjamin explained the No. 2 ranking for Minnesota: “This might seem ridiculously high considering one-half of the pair has yet to take a real NFL snap. In fact, the 22-year-old McCarthy is probably facing unreasonably lofty expectations, given Minnesota’s brutal schedule a year after Sam Darnold helped guide 14 wins as a bargain-bin gem.”
“Still, all McCarthy really needs to be is adequate to capitalize on the Vikings’ treasure trove of playmakers, all of whom are maximized by O’Connell’s beloved leadership. He thrived as a point guard at Michigan; who’s to say he can’t be just that in purple?”
The list, of course, certainly isn’t gospel, but it was also noteworthy that Minnesota didn’t check in near the bottom of Benjamin’s rankings.
CBS Sports’ Duos Criteria
The ranking system is unique. Here’s how Benjamin defined it: “Turnover is widespread in the salary cap era, and rarely is that more apparent than in league-wide pairings of coaches and quarterbacks. In 2025 alone, at least 13 of the NFL’s 32 teams will enter the season with either a new head coach, a new starting quarterback, or both.”
“That’s 40% of the entire league. And those aren’t small pieces of the operation! A home-run pairing can be vital. A misfire at those spots can be lethal. So which of this year’s new coach-quarterback tandems is best equipped to make some noise in 2025? We decided to sort all 13 of them from least to most promising.”
Minnesota selected McCarthy from Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft, but a torn meniscus wiped out his rookie campaign that he suffered in his first preseason game.
Benjamin elaborated, “But first, some quick criteria: 1) A team needs just one new starting quarterback or head coach to qualify (for example, Caleb Williams is entering Year 2 with the Chicago Bears, but this is his first season with Ben Johnson atop the staff). 2) What constitutes a ‘new starting quarterback’? Any projected starter who didn’t start Week 1 or multiple games for his current team the year prior.”
“Just to be clear, we’re ranking duos, not their respective teams. That said, coach-quarterback duos can be a good indicator of a team’s standing. Chances are, if your favorite team’s pairing is high on the list, they’re better positioned to overcome other weaknesses on the roster.”
J.J. McCarthy Ready for the Spotlight
Some onlookers wondered if McCarthy would be ready for all summer operations, questioning the length of a meniscus recovery.
Thankfully for McCarthy and the Vikings’ sake, the young passer fully healed by May, and he’s been front and center at every voluntary workout and minicamp to date.
With players like Sam Howell, Brett Rypien, and rookie Max Brosmer supporting him on the depth chart, the time is now for McCarthy to lead the team into its next era — building a formidable roster around a young quarterback on an affordable contract.
Kevin O’Connell as the Guru
McCarthy will have O’Connell, nationally known for “quarterback whispering,” in his corner. Since arriving in Minnesota three years ago, O’Connell has extracted the best from Kirk Cousins in 2022 and 2023, squeezed a few dazzling games from reserve signal-caller Joshua Dobbs, enabled Nick Mullens to dime 400 passing yards per game with ease, and propelled Sam Darnold to a 14-win season in 2024.
Now, it’s O’Connell’s turn to cook with McCarthy, which has been the plan for the last 14 months.
The Duo Rankings, Overall
Here’s how the Top 8 of Benjamin’s QB + HC duos flushed out:
- Dak Prescott + Brian Schottenheimer (DAL)
- J.J. McCarthy + Kevin O’Connell (MIN)
- Geno Smith + Pete Carroll (LV)
- Caleb Williams + Ben Johnson (CHI)
- Aaron Rodgers + Mike Tomlin (PIT)
- Trevor Lawrence + Liam Cohen (JAX)
- Drake Maye + Mike Vrabel (NE)
- Sam Darnold + Mike Macdonald (SEA)
Vikings mandatory minicamp kicks off on Tuesday.
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