With the path to starter status clearing day by day, Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy is seeing a rise in draft stock.
The answer to who will be the starting quarterback in Minnesota gets clearer by the day. With the Vikings letting Sam Darnold walk in free agency and holding off from signing Aaron Rodgers, the easy deduction is that J.J. McCarthy will be the starting quarterback in 2025.
In addition to the Vikings letting Darnold and Rodgers come and go from their view, they also didn’t pursue re-signing Daniel Jones with much aggression. This has had an impact on McCarthy’s draft stock on Underdog. Since March 9th, McCarthy has risen 7.5 spots in ADP from QB-23 to QB-22 in round 12.
McCarthy is being selected just behind the Dolphins Tua Tagovailoa and ahead of the Panthers Bryce Young. J.J. McCarthy’s 108.2 athleticism score ranked 2nd in the 2024 quarterback class and is 13th in all time rank from Player Profiler’s pool of 297 quarterbacks. Factor in being able to throw to Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson as supporting weapons creates a recipe for mass success in 2025. There is plenty of meat on the bone in round 12 to continue clicking J.J. McCarthy at current cost.
Author: Jeremiah Retzlaff (@coachretzlaff1)
Naming quarterback J.J. McCarthy (knee) as the Minnesota ...
Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (knee) said on ...
The Minnesota Vikings have rejected multiple trade calls on ...
The 5th year wide receiver will look to reclaim his career in Minnesota.
Rondale Moore has signed with the Minnesota Vikings. After a knee injury took away his 2024 season, Moore will look to recover both from an injury and career standpoint.
Moore was looking to rewrite the script to his career last year after he was traded from the Arizona Cardinals to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for quarterback Desmond Ridder. Some bullish elements to his game include the ability to show explosion close to the line of scrimmage and being versatile in usage via carries and targets. The problem for Rondale Moore is that his skillset has been more theory than practice.
Deebo Samuel and Jayden Reed get lauded for their swiss army knife utilization and weaponry afforded to their respective teams. Another problem is that for every Deebo Samuel, there is a Rondale Moore who doesn’t hit for fantasy football. Rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III is someone to monitor as to whether or not he will follow the Samuel or Moore path. In the meantime, expect Rondale Moore to fit a gadget role for depth on what is becoming a deeper offense soon to be led by quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
Author: Jeremiah Retzlaff (@coachretzlaff1)
The Minnesota Vikings have rejected trade offers for JJ McCarthy, and are moving forward with McCarthy as the projected starter for 2025.
Withdrawing from the Aaron Rodgers sweepstakes, the Minnesota Vikings are now focused on developing their 2nd year quarterback JJ McCarthy.
McCarthy missed all of the 2024 season due to a preseason knee injury. In his stead, veteran quarterback Sam Darnold posted a Pro Bowl season with career highs in passing touchdowns and passing yards. McCarthy, coming off a 2023 National championship with the University of Michigan Wolverines, still has much to prove as an NFL-caliber player.
McCarthy, the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, is best compared to Alex Smith on PlayerProfiler.com. Minnesota has weapons with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hockenson, and Aaron Jones which can unlock QB1 level production for McCarthy if everything plays out perfectly.
Author: Bradley Stalder (@FFStalder)
After missing his rookie season, the Minnesota Vikings expect first-round pick J.J. McCarthy to be healthy for the start of OTAs.
The Vikings selected McCarthy with the 10th overall pick in last year’s draft after the young signal-caller led his Michigan Wolverines to a National Championship. The then 21-year-old was on track to be the team’s next starting quarterback and heir apparent to Kirk Cousins before tearing his meniscus in his preseason debut last August.
There were murmurs as to whether the Vikings might look to retain Sam Darnold and trade McCarthy after posting a 14-3 record during what was supposed to be a down year. However, after a late-season decline in play from Darnold, and an ugly first-round exit from the playoffs, it would be a surprise if McCarthy wasn’t leading their QB room at the start of next season.
McCarthy’s rehab progress is positive news for dynasty owners who were let down after using a high pick on him during last year’s rookie drafts. With a supporting cast that features Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hockenson, and Aaron Jones, McCarthy is in a prime situation for success, even if he shows rust or inexperience out of the gates. Put it this way- if Sam Darnold threw for 4,300 yards and 35 TDs en route to his first Pro-Bowl selection, then expectations for McCarthy should be even higher than they were going into last season.
Author: Blake Stachel (IG: Bllakkay)
The Minnesota Vikings are likely to receive multiple inquiries from quarterback needy teams in hopes of acquiring J.J. McCarthy next season.
When asked by ESPN Radio about the Minnesota Vikings quarterback situation, NFL insider Adam Schefter alluded that a possible solution would be capitalizing on J.J. McCarthy and sticking with Sam Darnold. Schefter said McCarthy c
would be the top ranked QB in this upcoming rookie class, which Minnesota could leverage to get not only a high draft pick back but a little extra interest on top. This year more teams need a long term solution at QB than elite options available in the upcoming draft. The Giants, Raiders and Jets, are the most desperate teams. The Browns, Titans, and Colts also need to be asking themselves if they have the position covered. Additionally, the Steelers, Seahawks and Rams all have aging veterans with strong supporting casts around them. This early in the process Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward are the only two QB’s projected in the first round so far, making a bid for McCarthy more tenable for teams with lower draft capital.
The Vikings seemed to make all the right moves at QB this year. Picking McCarthy 10th overall was then-lauded and sending Kirk Cousins packing looks savvy, especially after what Kevin O’Connell and the coaching team were able to do with Sam Darnold. Darnold is having a late career renaissance, he’s ranked 4th in passing yards and 5th in Touchdowns this season and is about to face the Lions for control of the NFC through the playoffs. With such success this year, the debate about what to do with McCarthy vs Darnold next season has been unremitting. Either way Minnesota decides to play it, it’s looking like a good problem to have.
Lukasz Stec, @Lukasz_FF01
The Minnesota Vikings first depth chart came out with Sam Darnold as the Starter.
The offseason signing of veteran Sam Darnold is now the starting QB for the Vikings. In their first depth chart release, Darnold finds himself at the starter followed by J. J. McCarthy and Nick Mullens both as QB2. Darnold signed this offseason for a one-year deal for $10 million. They also drafted McCarthy 10th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. Darnold spent last season with San Francisco 49ers, where started last game of the season for them, throwing 16/26 for 189 yards and 1 touchdown. He also ran for 19 yards and 1 touchdown.
Currently Darnold is being drafted slightly behind McCarthy in bestball. Darnold’s ADP is 215 whereas McCarthy’s ADP is 209. It’s looking like Darnold is going to start the season as the starter, but pending performance and how Vikings are doing, they may turn to McCarthy to finish the season as the starter. For redraft and bestball they are pretty even. As for dynasty, McCarthy is the way to go.
