Justin Jefferson Claps Back at QB Allegation
For the first time ever, the Minnesota Vikings will showcase a quarterback they drafted in the Top 10 of a draft.
Justin Jefferson spoke to reporters on Monday, and he seemed to hit back at a recent tweet on social media.
His name is J.J. McCarthy, and fresh off a meniscus tear recovery, the man is ready to lead the purple and gold franchise.
So, when a weird tweet about McCarthy’s arm strength surfaced last week, fans’ heads turned, and folks wondered if they had to be worried about the youngster’s arm.
But after Justin Jefferson’s comments on Monday, the enterprise should be in good hands, per arm strength.
For Starters, the ESPN Tweet
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, who covers the Vikings, tweeted on May 29th: “I’ve struggled to square what I’ve seen of J.J. McCarthy (2024/25) with some pre-draft assessments of his arm. He’s not John Elway, Brett Favre or even Sam Darnold, but he makes the throws. Maybe I’ll be proven wrong when the games start, but for now it’s not a top-of-mind issue.”
“I’m talking about functional arm strength, not necessarily MPH at the combine. But just to be clear: During my amateur observations, I haven’t seen any red flags with J.J. McCarthy’s arm. He is making NFL throws.”
The tweet was a bit confusing, in general, seeming to question McCarthy’s arm strength but also claiming that it’s no big deal.
Justin Jefferson Then Details J.J. McCarthy’s Arm Strength
Insert Justin Jefferson, who said this on Monday about McCarthy, “He definitely has an arm, that’s for sure. He can definitely zip it when he has to.”
Jefferson will obviously become McCarthy’s main target for the next several years, and for Jefferson to endorse his arm strength, well, it should dismiss any naysaying fodder from anybody.
Onlookers actually commended McCarthy’s rifle-like arm strength at the 2024 NFL Combine, making the 2025 offseason concerns even wackier.
Just a Coincidence?
Of course, Jefferson’s remarks about McCarthy’s “zip” could be coincidental. That’s a fair assumption.
Still, Seifert’s tweet amassed over 150,000 views in a few days, and if Jefferson spent any time on X, formerly known as Twitter, over the weekend, he likely saw the tweet. It travelled far and wide.
More from Jefferson to Reporters
Meanwhile, Jefferson didn’t stop at the arm strength questions. He spoke at length about his blossoming connection with McCarthy.
He said about appearing at OTAs, “It’s definitely important. To gain a little bit of a sight of what the new year is going to look like, to build that connection with my teammates, and especially with my quarterback. It’s definitely great to be out here early. When they asked for me to be here, it was a no-brainer.”
“It’s been great. Him being here last year, I got to know him a lot last year, but of course, him being my quarterback this year, being able to talk to him more, pick his brain a little more, see what he likes, what he doesn’t like, how he throws the ball, all of that is a big factor to a quarterback. Just trying to learn every bit that I can. Even off the field, just trying to chop it up and make sure we’re well connected.”
Jefferson pulled down 103 receptions, 1,533 yards, and 10 touchdowns with Sam Darnold in charge last season. The sky may be the limit with McCarthy under center.
Jefferson added, “He understands the role that he has now. He understands that he is the starting quarterback at this moment, so I feel like he kinda brings that with him to practice. Knowing that he has to have that leadership. He’s the captain of our team. I feel like his awareness of the game and his intelligence has really grown. Everybody that knows me knows that growing up, I was more of a shy guy, more leading by example than by my voice.”
“I had to learn being vocal, learning that I have some type of influence on this team. So whenever I have some type of encouraging words or have that chance to bring up the team, that makes a difference. And even just being here makes a difference. It just feels great to be around the team earlier than normal and carrying on that leadership role.”
Vikings Wouldn’t Draft a Guy with Poor Arm Strength
Overall, the Vikings wouldn’t have searched high and low for a quarterback of the future, after concluding the Kirk Cousins era, only to end up with a noodle-armed passer.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell is currently known as a “quarterback whisperer,” and it just seems rather unlikely that the quarterback guru would attach his legacy to a signal-caller with a suspect arm.
That’s why Jefferson’s observation about McCarthy’s arm strength is closer to the truth than any doubts about McCarthy’s throwing power.
You must be logged in to post a comment.