J.J. McCarthy is doing everything right so far as he’s preparing to take over the Minnesota Vikings offense this upcoming season. Though it’s just his second year in the NFL — his first year was scratched thanks to a major knee injury — he’s looking every bit like a leader in the Vikings locker room. According to Alec Lewis, who covers the team for The Athletic, McCarthy is looking the part.
That said, until McCarthy gets into game action, talk only goes so far. McCarthy still has a lot to prove in 2025. The Vikings put all their faith into McCarthy picking up where Sam Darnold left off last year. They didn’t want to pay Darnold because they drafted McCarthy to be their guy before the injury. This preseason, though he’ll be the starter, will be important to get the reps he’ll need to be ready.
His plan of focusing on the process and day-to-day growth sounds promising. Acknowledging that he’ll have to make quick decisions pre-and-post-snap is nice to hear, too. But until we see him in game action, there will always be doubt about whether he’s ready to be the guy the Vikings need him to be.
J.J. McCarthy is saying all the right things, adding more pressure to his first real NFL season
McCarthy is adding more pressure on himself by saying all the right things, believe it or not. With every right thing he says, it lessens the margin of error for him, even if this is his proxy rookie season. The expectations are extremely high. The good thing is he’s had time to get through the mental part of the game. Though he didn’t play in 2024, he got to learn the offense, be a part of the film sessions and game plans.
Now he has to translate the mental side of the game onto the field and that won’t be easy. Quarterbacks are already under a microscope and have to immediately impact the game or they’re considered busts. McCarthy is probably in the best situation of any first-year quarterback since perhaps Patrick Mahomes.
He has a complete team around him on both sides of the ball. He has an All-Pro receiver, another young, budding star in Jordan Addison and solid backs in Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason. All McCarthy has to do is not mess up.
That’s why it’s good he’s acknowledging that he doesn’t have to do too much. Kevin O’Connell’s offense is built around taking as much pressure off the quarterback as possible. That’s why Darnold was able to thrive in it and why Kirk Cousins had so much success. McCarthy should be the next Minnesota quarterback to thrive with O’Connell.
Anything less and he’ll quickly be ostracized and labeled a bust. McCarthy is talking a big game, now he has to back it up in a year where a lot of eyes will be following his progress.