Insider Says J.J. McCarthy Faces Intense Pressure With Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings bypassed interest from Aaron Rodgers to give the quarterback reins to J.J. McCarthy. Now, it’s up to McCarthy to reward their faith in him.

The way ESPN’s Adam Schefter sees it, no quarterback may be under more pressure to perform this season.

“He also has advantages that others don’t,” Schefter noted during a recent episode of NFL Live. “McCarthy has a great coaching staff with Kevin O’Connell and Josh McCown and one of the league’s best group of receivers led by Justin Jefferson. …

“It’s time for JJ McCarthy to validate the Vikings’ faith in him.”

The No. 10 pick in the 2024 draft missed his entire rookie season following surgery to repair the meniscus in his right knee. Sam Darnold stepped up in his absence to lead the Vikings to 14 wins but left in free agency for the Seattle Seahawks on a three-year, $100.5 million deal.

Aaron Rodgers Showed Legitimate Interest in Vikings

Rodgers played all 17 games with the New York Jets last season, but he also missed essentially all of 2023 with an Achilles tear. Having already invested a first-round pick in McCarthy, the Vikings were hesitant to hinge their hopes on a 41-year-old with a lengthy history of injuries.

O’Connell said earlier this month on an appearance on KFAN 1003 radio that while he stayed in touch with Rodgers after some initial conversations, the Vikings’ interest never got serious.

“I was very honest about my feelings toward J.J., my obligation that I felt like we were going to give him the best possible situation to begin and thrive on this NFL journey,” O’Connell said.

Rodgers wound up signing a one-year, $13.6 million deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers on June 7.

J.J. McCarthy Will Be Compared to Rest of 2024 Draft Class

Five quarterbacks were drafted in the first round in 2024, four before McCarthy: Caleb Williams (first overall, Chicago), Jayden Daniels (second, Washington), Drake Maye (third, New England), Michael Penix Jr. (eighth, Atlanta), and Bo Nix (12th, Denver).

Williams, Daniels, Maye and Nix all got extensive starting experience as rookies and looked the part, while Penix Jr. flashed promise in limited work.

How will McCarthy compare? That will ultimately have a lot of say on whether the Vikings were correct to use a first-round pick on the former Michigan standout.

“The Vikings need him to measure up to the quarterbacks in his draft class,” Schefter said. “They need him to be as good, if not better, than Sam Darnold.”

Last year with Minnesota, Darnold passed for a career-high 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns compared to 12 interceptions. Yet he struggled in a pivotal Week 17 game against Detroit (18-41, 166 yards) and wasn’t much better the following week in the NFC Wild Card round against Los Angeles (25-40, 245, 1 TD, 1 INT).

For what it’s worth, reviews on McCarthy in camp have been mostly positive.

“He looks the way they’d expect him to look at this point in his developmental process,” ESPN’s Dan Graziano said on NFL Live. “And that’s the key thing to understand, the process. … They don’t want him to focus on the pressure he’s under. They want him to focus on the process.”

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