Here's Why JJ McCarthy Will Be The Vikings QB1 In 2025

Coming off of 3 great years with the University Of Michigan, and winning the national championship in his Junior year, JJ McCarthy drew a lot of attention from NFL scouts coming into the 2024 draft, and eventually saw himself become a top 10m draft pick after being selected 10th overall by the Minnesota Vikings. McCarthy finished his 3 year college stint with Michigan in style, finishing 10th in the Heiseman trophy rankings, and beating out the Washington Huskies to win the coveted college national championship. McCarthy put up some great numbers in his final year as a Wolverine, with a completion percentage of 72.3, with 22 touchdowns, and only 4 interceptions across 15 games. With a more than solid NFL level finish to his Michigan Wolverines career, and Kirk Cousins departing Minnesota for Atlanta, it only made sense that McCarthy would end up in Minnesota. With fierce quarterback competition in the draft, it was more than likely that he would drop to the number 10 spot with the likes of Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels taking the number one and two spots, but with the ability to be a great franchise quarterback in the NFL, any team who chose McCarthy would be onto a steal, but little did the Vikings or JJ McCarthy know, he would never wear a Vikings jersey in 2024.

The anticipation was high in Minnesota, as JJ McCarthy would make his preseason debut against the Raiders on August 12th. McCarthy got off to a flying start, with 11 of 17 passes completed for 188 yards and two touchdowns. Although the fun stopped pretty early for Vikings fans after reports days after the game revealed JJ McCarthy had torn his meniscus and would be out indefinitely for the entire 2024/25, leaving the starting quarterback job to former first round pick Sam Darnold. With Darnold receiving some underwhelming reactions to his promotion to QB1, the Vikings expected another rollercoaster season, as Darnold was yet to prove himself in the NFL. With only 63 touchdowns in 66 games during his travels through New York, Carolina, and San Francisco, the hope that Darnold could elevate the Vikings to be a playoff level team was highly in doubt. Going into the season opener against the Giants, the level of expectation was low for Vikings fans, with the hope that stars like Justin Jefferson and newly acquired Aaron Jones could help the team get by, until something unexpected happened. Darnold arguably demonstrated one of his best performances for years, with a two touchdown, 28-6 win for the Vikings giving the fans some hope that he could be the right man for the job. 

As the weeks went by, Darnold had really proved himself to the raucous fanbase in Minnesota, with statement wins over some big team like the 49ers and the Texans, and by putting up stats he never had before in his NFL career. Before they knew it, the Vikings seemed to have found their new starting quarterback, some fans even forgetting about their 10th overall pick in 2024, and began to mutter questions as to whether Sam Darnold is the next big QB extension in the NFL. With the Vikings securing themselves in a playoff spot off the back of an amazing season with Darnold at the helm, trade talk began to float around, as to how much McCarthy is worth to some teams like the Giants or the Riders, and a trade for the young QB could be the sensible move with Sam Darnold finding his true form. McCarthy was tipped to be ‘better’ than every quarterback in the 2025 draft, with some ESPN analysts stating he would be the number one prospect in this year's draft by a mile. With that kind of value it would be silly for the Vikings not to explore possible trades with some teams in need of a QB, with the Giants being a prime candidate for a player pick swap for the 3rd overall pick in this year's draft. This was until the playoffs came around. With the Vikings being dismantled and somewhat found out by the Lions in the final game of the season, it was clear that there were still a few problems with Darnold’s overall game, and were blips of some of his former self. Coming into a tough matchup against the Rams in Arizona, the Vikings were favourites to move on to round two, until an extremely disappointing, and ‘2018 like’ performance was executed by Darnold in the most pivotal part of the season. With the Vikings having a disastrous and underwhelming playoff campaign, JJ McCarthy began to see his name float around the media once again, with a number of fans and analysts turning their backs on Darnold, and believing that McCarthy is the right man for the job. 

With Darnold entering free agency next year, and McCarthy coming into the final month or two of his recovery from his torn meniscus, it's more than likely that we won't see Sam Darnold in a Vikings jersey in 2025, and will look to move on and allow the Vikings to try a new system. With Darnold finishing his statement year on a low, McCarthy has slipped right back into the QB1 spot, and has yet to prove himself to the Vikings as of yet. I believe had the Vikings thrown the money bags at Darnold, and locked him in for 3 to 4 years, it would have been a huge mistake on the Vikings part, and definitely would have been a move to regret in years to come. Despite his overall breakout year, Darnold still showed the odd sign of his former self, and some of the gaping holes that still appear in his game. McCarthy on the other hand still has nothing to lose, and a fresh start, he is 100% the right man going forward. In his mind he has something to prove, and has the opportunity to finish off what Sam Darnold started, and create his own legacy as the next great Vikings quarterback.