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)
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that with quarterbacks ...
Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (knee) is ...
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that Minnesota Vikings ...
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.
The Minnesota Vikings will likely start the season as QB1 over JJ McCarthy.
JJ McCarthy won a National Championship last season at the University of Michigan. He threw the 2nd hardest pass velocity at the Combine. McCarthy was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings with the 10th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. In fact, the Vikings traded UP to make McCarthy their QB of the future. That future may be further off than McCarthy hoped.
Free Agent QB signee Sam Darnold will, by all indications, the Vikings starter in game 1 and for the foreseeable future. Minnesota has “made it clear” that McCarthy is not ready to start, will be brought along slowly, and Sam Darnold is the starter. McCarthy’s path will be determined by Darnold’s play. If Darnold struggles, as one might assume would happen after joining his 4th NFL team when he signed with the Vikings, Kevin O’Connell’s hand might be forced to insert McCarthy sooner than he wants. As for now, McCarthy is still a first-rounder in Dynasty rookie drafts, and could be a valuable late QB3 in Best Ball formats.
The Minnesota Vikings plan to start QB Sam Darnold over rookie JJ McCarthy.
Sam Darnold hype is back! According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN the Minnesota Vikings are planning to start journeyman Sam Darold over 1st round rookie JJ McCarthy. Citing “untapped potential” for the reason to start Darnold. Sam Darnold has never lacked the skill set to look exactly like what you want in a quarterback. His problem is 70 turnovers in 67 games played. You can argue that the Vikings offer some great targets for Darnold in Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Starting Darnold is in the best interest for JJ McCarthy to learn the ropes, in order to avoid overwhelming the rookie like Darnold was in New York.
Darnold will be a low end fantasy quarterback, and should only be starting in advantageous matchups. There is no doubt Darnold can make explosive plays with Jefferson and Addison, it’s just the matter of whether he can be consistent enough to make both receivers viable options every week. I fully expect the leach to be very short on Darnold as his turnovers have led to his quick benching in Carolina. Vikings will end up starting the rookie McCarthy sooner than later.
Sam Darold is only viable in superflex formats as a consistent starter until he is benched. Otherwise keep McCarthy as a wavier wire pick up in your standard leagues.
The Vikings have selected Michigan Quarterback, J.J McCarthy, 10th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
McCarthy caught a lot of buzz during the pre-draft process and even drew rumors that he could be the 2nd Quarterback taken in the draft. While he didn’t go as high as some expected, he lands in a favorable situation with the Vikings, having star Wide Receiver Justin Jefferson as a primary target.
At this point, it’s hard to determine if McCarthy will be an upgrade for and the Minnesota position players in terms of their fantasy production, as he wasn’t leaned on to be a prolific passer for Michigan.
For Fantasy Managers, McCarthy merits 1st round consideration in Superflex rookie drafts. For single QB rookie drafts, it’s safer to target him in the later rounds while prioritizing other skill positions. Despite all the pre-draft hype, McCarthy should be completely off redraft radars until he provides proof that he can be a top 10 Quarterback in the NFL.
