Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson added to the expectations on J.J. McCarthy ahead of his proxy rookie season this year. Hockenson said he sees some of pre-Los Angeles Rams Matthew Stafford and Kirk Cousins, when he spent time catching balls from both of them in his career. That may not be a bad thing, except when Hockenson played with both, neither did anything of significance.
Matthew Stafford had to leave to win his first career playoff and Kirk Cousins never won a playoff game in Minnesota. While they, individually, were solid quarterbacks on their respective teams when Hockenson played with them, they didn’t accomplish much either. If that’s McCarthy’s ceiling, they’ll surely have second doubts of letting Sam Darnold walk.
T.J. Hockenson ramping up expectations for J.J. McCarthy is bound to implode
Let’s look at what overarching expectations have caused in the first official week of football returning. Everyone thought Arch Manning was going to storm into Columbus and beat the defending champions. Instead, he put together a performance that made him look like another of college might not be enough to succeed in the NFL. OK, fine, that was an overreaction.
But the point still stands: Massive expectations lead to massive letdowns. That’s what Hockenson is doing with McCarthy. Like Manning, McCarthy is the new kid in the system. He doesn’t know the ebbs and flow of an NFL season yet. On top of that, he hasn’t played in any real game action since college.
While he did play in the preseason, he didn’t really get enough reps that give me confidence he’s going to take the NFL by storm. To assume that McCarthy is going to come in and be a perfect blend of Stafford and Cousins, two of the better quarterbacks Hockenson has played with, isn’t fair.
It’s not fair to the Minnesota Vikings, who if McCarthy fails could look worse than the Indianapolis Colts have with their Anthony Richardson problem. And it’s not fair to McCarthy. I get it, Hockenson was simply saying that’s who McCarthy reminds him of, but in essence, he’s comparing them; and that’s a dangerous game.
The NFC North just got more fuel to up its competitiveness this season
In 2024, the NFC North was one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL. It featured three teams that were in a race for the division title and the No. 1 seed in the NFC came down to the Vikings versus the Detroit Lions. This year, there are a lot of expectations that this year will be just as competitive.
The Chicago Bears have new faith after poaching Ben Johnson from the Lions, Detroit still plans on being competitive and Green Bay went and fortified their defensive line by trading for Micah Parsons. The Vikings can’t afford to have a misstep this season. They hand-picked McCarthy as Darnold’s successor. They’ll have to live with the consequences.
Their fate in the NFC lies solely in McCarthy’s hands and the rest of the NFC North has to love the continued expectations that are getting poured on McCarthy. The higher the expectations, the more pressure and the more pressure, the more chance McCarthy folds. Right now, this is a four-team race for the division. The rest of the NFC North would love to have one less team contending.