Expectations for JJ McCarthy in 2025
By Andy Davies
It’s “take two” for JJ McCarthy in 2025.
A lot of hope was placed on JJ McCarthy’s shoulders prior to the 2024 season after a successful time with the Michigan Wolverines.
He was picked 10th overall by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2024 NFL Draft, just months on from winning the National Championship with Michigan.
However, a torn meniscus meant he became the first player selected in the first round to miss their entire rookie season through injury.
Sam Darnold was added in the offseason. He was seen as a bridge quarterback and presumed to be the starter for the initial stages of the 2024 season before the Vikings would slowly bring McCarthy into the QB1 role.
Due to the McCarthy injury, Darnold ended up playing the entire season and had a career year.
In 17 regular season starts, he threw for 4,319 yards, 35 passing touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He and the Vikings ascended to a 14-3 overall record, having the unwanted title of the most wins for a division runner up in the history of the league.
His final two games, one being the Wildcard Round defeat by the Los Angeles Rams, were a level below disappointing. He managed to secure a three-year $100.5 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks this offseason, opening the door for McCarthy to be the full-time starter in Minnesota.
He will once again get the chance to play regular season snaps in 2025, unless an extremely unfortunate burst of lightning strikes twice. Here’s what to expect for McCarthy in 2025.
Initial struggles
Do not expect McCarthy to flourish straight away.
Not everyone can be CJ Stroud, Patrick Mahomes or Jayden Daniels.
A lot of quarterbacks struggle in their first year of starting.
Peyton Manning famously had a difficult rookie year. Josh Allen did not get going until his third year. Joe Burrow had an injury hit debut campaign. Brett Favre was traded by the Atlanta Falcons after his rookie campaign.
Tom Brady might have won a Super Bowl after taking over from Drew Bledsoe, but he was far from the polished product we saw guide the New England Patriots to the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history against the Atlanta Falcons.
McCarthy is going to be tested in his rookie year. With quarterback battles against Jared Goff (twice), Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow and Daniels, he will be put through his paces.
This is even more of the case when coming up against defenses from the Detroit Lions (twice), Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers to the New York Giants with a defense featuring Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence, Kayvon Tibodeaux and exciting rookie Abdul Carter.
There is also an element of doubt surrounding his injury. He is expected to be fully healthy, but his initial first few weeks, will see him face some obstacles. With a year on the sidelines, he will be rusty and his rhythm will take some time to return.
Guidance from a great offensive mind
McCarthy will be able to play under one of the brightest young head coaches in the NFL.
At the age of 40, he has had a fantastic time with the Vikings in his three seasons in the role.
He and the Vikings have had two double digit wins and a division title, with a combined record of 34-17 since being hired in the role.
Kirk Cousins had great numbers working alongside O’Connell, with injuries hampering any chance of success.
Joshua Dobbs enjoyed a brief period in the sun under O’Connell’s stewardship during Cousins’ absence, and Sam Darnold enjoyed a career year in 2024.
During McCarthy’s time in college, he played under Jim Harbaugh, one of the greatest coaches in college football history. In Minnesota, he will now play under one of the best in the league at improving quarterback talent.
Throwing to the best
One of the best shades thrown at McCarthy during his time in college with Michigan, was that he was playing for the best team.
Along with his strengths, which include an ability to throw smoothly on rollouts and in scramble mode, there have been a lot of weaknesses directed towards McCarthy in his draft report.
His arms strength, timing as well as ability to get through progressions have been questioned in his draft report. Playing under a head coach with a run first approach and being surrounded by the best team at the college level has also been used a stick to beat McCarthy with, as seen with many Alabama quarterbacks during the Nick Saban era.
Under a head coach that likes to run the ball a lot, McCarthy The statistics suggest this, ranking 53rd in attempted passes (332) across all college conferences in 2023. However, he threw for just nine interceptions across his final two seasons, with 5,710 passing yards, 44 touchdowns and a 68.5% completion percentage in this same time period.
Despite this, and arguably most crucially, McCarthy was ninth in college football for completion percentage in 2023, recording 72.3%. This shows his ability to throw accurate passes when it matters. He was also recognised for this through winning team MVP, for a roster that went 15-0.
In Minnesota, he will be afforded the luxury of throwing to one of the best wide receivers in the game at the moment in Justin Jefferson, along with arguably the best WR2 in the league in Jordan Addison, even with Addison spending some of the 2025 season suspended due to off the field issues.
With a Brian Flores led defense, this blitz heavy package will be sure to win this team games should McCarthy have an off day. With Jonathan Grennard, Ivan Pace Jr, Byron Murphy, Andrew Van Ginkel along with offseason addition Jonathan Allen, this is a frightening defense that at times go under the radar.
Due to the nature of the draft system in the NFL, a lot of good quarterbacks are victims of their own college success, being taken by bad teams. Some head coaches will have a bad two seasons, and earn a top pick and use it as a last roll of the dice for their tenures.
A change in head coach or coordinator can often damage a young quarterback’s development, as seen with Baker Mayfield with the Cleveland Browns.
A change in head coach or coordinator, along with a poor supporting cast that has caused the lack of wins and high draft pick, can often see quarterbacks fail to live up to expectation.
For McCarthy, he has got the coach, the weapons, a good defense and Pro Bowl offensive linemen to protect him. He is in the perfect organisation to succeed, it is just up to him to make good things happen.
ANDY DAVIES
NFL ANALYST
ANDY IS A SPORTS JOURNALISM GRADUATE WITH OVER FOUR YEARS EXPERIENCE OF NFL WRITING AND PODCASTING. ANDY HAS BEEN TO EVERY NFL STADIUM AND IS THE HOST OF THE ACROSS THE POD PODCAST. HE HAS PRESS PASS EXPERIENCE AT THE LONDON GAMES AND MANY OTHER NFL BASED EVENTS SUCH AS THE SUPER BOWL, HAVING INTERVIEWED THE LIKES OF AARON RODGERS, JASON BELL, OSI UMENYIORA, PATRICK MAHOMES, TRAVIS KELCE, DERRICK HENRY, SAQUON BARKLEY AND JALEN HURTS.