The Minnesota Vikings have been through many quarterback changes throughout the past season as with Kirk Cousins leaving to sign with the Atlanta Falcons, they are looking for their next star to move the organization forward. The one they hope to do the job is J.J. McCarthy as they selected him with the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft coming off of a national championship win with the University of Michigan.
However, fans of the Vikings might wonder when will they get to see McCarthy become the official starting quarterback, but it is probably best to put that in the back burner for now. The last thing that Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell wants to do is throw McCarthy out there when he is not ready as there appears to be some regrets with his time as offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders where they started first-round pick Dwayne Haskins in Week 4 in 2019 when he was not ready.
“When we selected him, we had a lot of confidence in what he could become under the right circumstances and development and timetable,” O'Connell said according to Kevin Seifert of ESPN. “And that didn't exactly end up being the mindset just a few short months later.”
O'Connell runs down when Vikings will start McCarthy
O'Connell is looking to take the time of McCarthy becoming the No. 1 quarterback that himself and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah know he can be. Last season for the Wolverines, McCarthy threw for 2,991 yards, 22 touchdowns, and four interceptions leading the program to a perfect 15-0 record.
Currently on the Vikings roster, they have four quarterbacks including McCarthy with the others being the likely starter in former first round pick in Sam Darnold, Nick Mullens, and Jaren Hall, the latter two who started games last season. However, there is no doubt that the ultimate plan is for McCarthy to take over the reigns at some point as O'Connell went into detail to express what would need to happen for the Vikings to pull the trigger and make him the starting quarterback per ESPN.
“The comfort level that he has within our offense and his ability to then translate it to adverse situations and difficult aspects of playing quarterback in the NFL aren't magnified by inexperience,” O'Connell said.
“But I want to be very clear that the expectation is for this player to not be perfect,” O'Connell continued. “He's going to have growing pains, he's going to learn on the fly. I'm not trying to remove that aspect of it, either, but [deciding when he will play] is not something you can write up on a board. It's a feeling.”
McCarthy of concerns about Vikings job security in relation to McCarthy
However, it also must be thought about the job security of such people as O'Connell and Adofo-Mensah where if the rebuild is not going well, they could jump the gun early and make McCarthy go out to the field earlier than expected. On the other hand, the 39-year old head coach for the Vikings since 2022 says that “those circumstances cannot affect what J.J.'s development plan is” especially since he reveals that he has an “obligation to have the best interests” of the rookie since he was a former quarterback himself.
“It's just more about what is in the best interest of the organization,” O'Connell said. “Those circumstances cannot affect what J.J.'s development plan is or any other player on the team for that matter. It just can't be something that selfishly ever impacts that decision.
“That really won't change,” O'Connell continued. “Because, and I don't know if it's the former quarterback in me or not, but I do feel an obligation to have the best interests of not only J.J. but our entire team, at heart, when we make that decision.”
Vikings hoping McCarthy can bring back winning ways for Minnesota
The NFC North is only getting better and since they took a step backwards last year, mostly due to the health of the previously mentioned Cousins, they are banking on McCarthy becoming the face of the franchise. It seemed as if Minnesota got the player they wanted as they had a litter to pick from in what was a quarterback-heavy draft though they probably would have to move up for a top guy since they were the 10th pick.
“I believe in J.J. McCarthy,” O'Connell said. “But to get him in the building the right way under the right circumstances, and having another first-round pick like Dallas Turner helps that.”
“What people don't understand about the quarterback-selection process,” O'Connell continued, “is that it's not just the quarterback themselves. It's: ‘What does the rest of the picture look like with that quarterback?'”
Vikings general manager has faith in O'Connell's plan for McCarthy
Either way, it seems as if the organization is bought in to the plan that O'Connell has for McCarthy to truly become the quarterback everybody is hoping to be. One major figure who has that “faith” is the Vikings general manager who believes they can mold McCarthy into the player that can take the team over the hump.
“Those things [O'Connell] talked about are the reason why I have so much faith in him,” Adofo-Mensah said. “to take a mold-and-play like [McCarthy] with talent and traits that are as high-end as anybody, and mold him into that player we want him to be.
“A lot of times when we go back over history,” Adofo-Mensah continued. “And we say, ‘These quarterbacks have missed.' There's a lot of hands that are dirty in that regard, and we're going to make sure that our hands are clean and give him the best opportunity he can to be the best player he can be in this offense.”
McCarthy bought into offensive scheme of O'Connell
Besides the head coach, the general manager, and others, one person that also has to be bought in to the plan for it to work is McCarthy himself who has the pressure now to take the franchise to the stratosphere. On the other hand, he feels comfortable where he is currently at, ever since O'Connell pitched his offense to McCarthy and others at Michigan's pro day according to ESPN.
“It was the way [O'Connell] presents the install,” McCarthy said, “the way he compartmentalizes everything about how to look at this play individually and how to make it more relatable to what your knowledge is and how you can smoothly and efficiently step into this playbook.
“That was something that was truly unique,” McCarthy continued. “Because you go around to so many defensive coaches like [Washington's] Dan Quinn and [New England's] Jerod Mayo, and being able to have that relationship as former QB and current QB, it's truly special and it means a lot.”
At any rate, it should be an interesting season for the Vikings as they look to improve after a 7-10 record last season which put them third in the NFC North. They start the upcoming season on the road against the New York Giants on Sunday, Sept. 8.
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