After the departure of veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins to Atlanta, the Minnesota Vikings were forced to pivot their draft strategy a bit and find a solution for the future of their quarterback position. While they didn’t trade up for one of the top-end guys, they did ultimately land on a proven winner in former Michigan signal caller J.J. McCarthy.
J.J. McCarthy dropped that in perfectly 🎯
🎥: @Vikings pic.twitter.com/dPvcN3huOZ https://t.co/OBgj7WFGes
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) June 7, 2024
It’s unlikely that McCarthy will start from the jump, given the presence of talented veteran Sam Darnold. However, given Darnold’s track record, McCarthy is bound to find some playing time later on in the season.
McCarthy was a fast riser in the draft, and teams had faith in his ability to lead and make plays outside of the play design. if he can thrive in this Kevin O’Connell offensive system, he has plenty of weapons to make the most of it. McCarthy still needs to develop some of the finer aspects of playing the position, and could face some early bumps in the road despite his surrounding talent, but should still be able to push Darnold should he struggle at the midway point of the season.
Stat projection: 2,200 yards, 14 touchdowns, 7 interceptions