The second-year quarterback is fully expected to be Minnesota’s starter in 2025.
What stood out to Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell about quarterback J.J. McCarthy, whom the franchise selected with the No. 10 overall pick in last year’s NFL draft, was his command of an NFL-style offense at Michigan.
McCarthy appears set to be Minnesota’s starting quarterback in 2025, a show of confidence in the 22-year-old quarterback from O’Connell and the rest of the Vikings coaching staff and front office. Those skills McCarthy showed at Michigan, which O’Connell recently discussed in an interview with Kevin Clark on ESPN’s This Is Football, and taking the time last year to learn the offense are the reasons why O’Connell believe McCarthy is poised to hit the ground running.
“He was in a pro-style offense where they were running the football, they were marrying the run and the pass on early downs,” O’Connell told Clark of McCarthy. “They needed high-quality execution on some of those weighty downs, and that’s really what we like to be with our offense.”
McCarthy’s rookie season didn’t go according to plan. He tore his meniscus during the preseason and was ruled out for the season just days after a strong first showing against the Las Vegas Raiders. But even though McCarthy wasn’t able to take snaps or practice last year, O’Connell said the routine shouldn’t be all new for him. He spent all season watching how Sam Darnold prepared and how O’Connell implemented plays. McCarthy comes in now understanding the processes.
“He got to see what meetings were like. What’s it like when I install third-down plays, and we talk about the reads and we talk about the detail of how we’re going to play against this opponent who plays like this this week,” O’Connell said. “And I think he’s been around all that, so he’s not a rookie. He’s been able to have that pseudo redshirt year, albeit without the reps we would’ve wanted, but I’m really confident and really excited to see him hit the ground running.”
O’Connell likened it to getting your undergraduate degree when you have plans to go on to something like medical or law school. He’s learned what the processes look like and understands the expectations, the next step is to go out and do it.
O’Connell said the Vikings won’t put unnecessary pressure on McCarthy to be someone he’s not. The expectation is for him to go out and execute. And one thing O’Connell already knows is that McCarthy has the leadership traits that a team would want out of their starting quarterback, something McCarthy showed even from the sidelines last season.
“He’s a locker room energizer, changer,” O’Connell said. “The guys on the team really — they love his energy. They love his youthful enthusiasm, but yet he’s got kind of an old soul to him. Really, really excited.”