Familiar potential J.J. McCarthy replacement is taking steps that may entice Vikings

J.J. McCarthy's rookie season with the Minnesota Vikings is over before it even really began. He suffered a meniscus injury in the wake of his preseason debut last week. The No. 10 overall pick out of Michigan was expected to backup veteran journeyman Sam Darnold this season, but now he will be holding a clipboard. This injury has put even more importance on Nick Mullens, as well as Jaren Hall.

While I like Mullens quite a bit as the backup, he is not going to quarterback a playoff team. Frankly, neither will Darnold. However, there is one familiar face out there that I think could provide a spark to the Vikings' passing game. That would be Joshua Dobbs, who now backs up Brock Purdy on Darnold's former team in the San Francisco 49ers. He can be electrifying out there. There is also this.

Dobbs has warmed up by throwing a rugby ball. He explained that to Matt Barrows of The Athletic.

“So I just hopped into their warmup line and started throwing the ball with them. Then I picked up a football and it felt tiny. So I just liked how a football felt in my hand after throwing a rugby ball.”

While I may not subscribe to the equivalent of throwing a baseball stuffed with pennies and then put back together with electrical tape, I do subscribe to this level of confidence that comes from Dobbs.

“I feel like I can put a football wherever I want after I throw the rugby ball."

He then finished by explaining his routine both during the offseason and before a game doing this.

“I just went to Dick’s and bought one. During the offseason, I do the same thing before I throw: I get 16 throws with the rugby ball and then hop into my normal warmup with the football.”

McCarthy may have a howitzer of a right arm, but placement and accuracy are not his strong suits...

Minnesota Vikings should look at Joshua Dobbs for the backup role

Dobbs is incredibly likable and was one helluva of a player in college at Tennessee. He can be inconsistent at times whenever he is out there, but he does possess some of the magic that McCarthy also has, the type I cannot ever say I have seen out of Darnold. The fact that Dobbs played well at times last season for the Vikings leads me to believe that he could be a potential solution here.

In truth, it may just be the Kevin O'Connell effect he has on quarterbacks. Outside of Justin Jefferson, he is without question my favorite part of this team, one that needs to find a new identity and reinvent itself before it gets lapped by everyone in the NFC North. If I were playing on the Detroit Lions, the Green Bay Packers or the Chicago Bears, I wouldn't want to face Dobbs twice annually this season.

Essentially, Darnold and Dobbs traded places this past offseason. The only difference is Darnold is being given one last chance at being the starter. Dobbs is comfortable in his own skin as the backup. However, I cannot say that Skol Nation is going to be comfortable looking up at everyone else in the division standings. They have the worst quarterback situation, and it was before McCarthy got hurt.

Dobbs throwing a rugby ball does nothing for me, but I like his confidence to be an answer for them.