Minnesota Vikings rookie first-round pick J.J. McCarthy’s physical gifts have been evident. How quickly he can marry that with the mental and other more refined aspects of the game will dictate when he will be under center for good.
But there is no question about his talent.
“He’s got all the tools, that’s for sure,” former Vikings Pro Bowl wide receiver Adam Thielen said on “#92Noon!” on July 1. “He can sling it. He’s super accurate. We’re in shorts and some T-shirts out there. But, yeah, that you can see a lot just from accuracy timing and those kind of things when you’re running routes on air.”
Thielen, now with the Carolina Panthers, caused a stir with McCarthy when footage of the two training together made the rounds on social media.
He said he did not expect the meet-up to go viral, noting he reached out to set it up.
“He’s a great kid. You don’t really realize that he’s 21 years old when you’re talking to him [or] when you’re hanging around him. He’s got a maturity about him that you can tell that goes beyond his age,” Thielen said.
“That’s step No. 1 as a quarterback, right? To have that maturity level, to have that kind of poise or kind of that aura around you that just feels like confidence and just a good, good person. So I’ve really enjoyed being around him for the little time that I’ve been able to be around him, and [I’m] excited to kind of follow his career,”
J.J. McCarthy Receives Votes of Confidence as Vikings’ Future QB1
McCarthy’s maturity could help him through the ups and downs many rookies experience early in their transition to the professional game.
But there is a sense among other former Vikings that McCarthy has what it takes to be successful.
“He’s a baller; he’s definitely a baller,” former Vikings QB Daunte Culpepper told KTSP’s Alec Ausmus on June 14. “He’s a solid, solid young man, and he’s going to be an even better quarterback, I think. He has a lot of upside and a lot of ability.”
McCarthy faces questions about his ability as a passer after relatively limited exposure on that front in college.
But he has been touted for his experience in a pro style offense.
“It’s well documented I think he’s the best quarterback in the draft,” McCarthy’s college coach Jim Harbaugh, now of the Los Angeles Chargers, told reporters during the AFC coaches breakfast in March. “That’s just what I think is my opinion. He’s the one who plays quarterback of all the quarterbacks that are in the draft. There’s great quarterbacks in the draft. I think he plays quarterback the best of any quarterback in the draft.”
J.J. McCarthy Must Earn QB1
The Vikings are not handing the reins over to the rookie, though. Head Coach Kevin O’Connell named journeyman Sam Darnold as the Vikings starting quarterback over McCarthy heading into training camp.
However, O’Connell also said he wanted to create a competitive environment, going so far as to name incumbents Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall in describing how that might look.
It is McCarthy’s job whenever he is ready to assume it; perhaps even Week 1.
