J.J. McCarthy Picks Up Another Endorsement
J.J. McCarthy has received a shower of endorsements this offseason — from everybody.
J.J. McCarthy continues to earn kudos, with SI.com becoming the latest outfit to speak glowingly of the rookie quarterback ahead of Vikings training camp in four weeks.
The 22-year-old will lead the Vikings into the 2025 season as their 1st-Round pick from 2024, with the lane for QB1 paved by Sam Darnold’s free-agent departure in March.
Fans are anxious to see if McCarthy takes off right away, and the kudos keep rolling in about his upside.
It’s Yet Another Endorsement for the Vikings’ Quarterback
It’s easy to lose track of all the folks who have endorsed McCarthy this spring and summer.
Albert Breer High on J.J. McCarthy
The latest? SI.com‘s Albert Breer, a well-respected writer who covers the NFL.
Breer provided a blurb this week about each team’s offseason takeaway, and for the Vikings, he wrote, “For all the noise around J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings have built a tremendous, quarterback-friendly roster that’ll put him in position to win from the outset. Pressure comes with that, too, of course, but if you’re constantly in second-and-manageable and third-and-short, and your defense is one of football’s most challenging to go against, the trade-off is probably worth it.”
“And while last fall was rocky for McCarthy, the quarterback has rebounded this offseason. I think he’ll be good.”
Breer didn’t have to say anything about McCarthy — good or bad — but he did, and he’s in on the young Viking.
A Mile-Long List of Endorsements
Breer certainly isn’t the first this spring or summer to pound the table for McCarthy.
His college coach, Jim Harbaugh, never misses an opportunity to heap praise on his national champion when given a chance on the microphone. Neither do Kevin O’Connell nor Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
McCarthy has also picked up player endorsements, including flattery from Justin Jefferson, Harrison Smith, T.J. Hockenson, Ivan Pace Jr., Camryn Bynum, Harrison Phillips, and Josh Metellus, among others.
Former Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper, too, has gone out of his way to compliment the Vikings’ young passer, and Culpepper is usually pretty quiet about purple doings.
A Summer of Excitement
Truth be told, this might be the most exciting Vikings summer since 2010, when fans still believed the team could rekindle their near-heroics from 2009. Otherwise, onlookers had high hopes in the summer of 2018 after Kirk Cousins had joined the club as the missing piece on offense.
Minnesota hasn’t drafted a quarterback from Round 1 since 2014, and that worked nicely for about two seasons until Teddy Bridgewater injured his knee in 2016.
Eleven years later, the Vikings have a chance to thrive with one of their own — not a retread like Matt Cassel, Kirk Cousins, Sam Darnold, and numerous others.
Cautioning a Rookie Learning Curve
Of course, McCarthy’s first season — technically second if you want to be strict — won’t be all sunshine and rainbows. He’s never thrown a regular season snap in the big leagues, and first-year starters take their lumps.
What’s more, Sam Darnold delivered 36 total touchdowns and 4,319 passing yards last season, a tall order to follow for anybody, let alone an inexperienced 22-year-old.
McCarthy will make mistakes — probably many — and folks must have patience with his development. It’s just how it goes. Not every signal-caller is a Pro Bowler out of the gate like Patrick Mahomes in 2018 or Jayden Daniels in 2024. Josh Allen can tell you all about it.
Other McCarthy Notes
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert opined on McCarthy’s performance at OTAs last month: “The speed of OTA practices in the NFL varies from day to day, and sometimes even from drill to drill. During a brief moment this week, however, the Minnesota Vikings’ intensity was unmistakably high. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy was trying to fit the ball into a tight window to receiver Justin Jefferson, a superstar who hasn’t often attended voluntary offseason work in previous seasons.”
“The Vikings’ defense was playing aggressive coverage, so much so that cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. jumped and rose above Jefferson’s hands to tip the ball to linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. for an interception. The sequence provided a neat snapshot of the environment the Vikings have created for McCarthy, who is expected to be the starter after missing his rookie season with a torn right meniscus.”
Indeed, McCarthy will get trial by fire at training camp from Brian Flores’ men.
Seifert added, “Jefferson has been a regular attendee in the offseason program for the first time in three years, according to coach Kevin O’Connell, and defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ group has been up to its usual practice shenanigans. During a 115-minute practice Wednesday, the Vikings had virtually their entire roster on the field.”
“It was a small, single lesson at a time of year when they come daily. The process will continue into the summer — and beyond.”
The next question regarding McCarthy will be the preseason — and whether the Vikings play him during those three games. McCarthy tore his meniscus in the preseason last year, and Minnesota often rests starters in such games.
The Vikings Dodged a Bullet
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