Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson‘s connection with quarterback J.J. McCarthy is a work in progress.
While McCarthy ranks 32nd out of 32 quarterbacks with the lowest completion rate (57.3%) in the NFL, a closer look at the numbers tells a different story. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Vikings receivers share the highest drop rate (11.9%) in the league when targeted by McCarthy.
There has been a litany of blunders by the receivers this season. McCarthy has lacked a touch on his throws and is seemingly hurling the ball to his receivers but overall, the lack of time on task with McCarthy and his receivers seems to be a factor for the poor execution this season.
Vikings great Cris Carter recently spoke with Clutchpoints features writer DJ Siddiqi and broke down the relationship with McCarthy and Jefferson and what that they need for that connection to thrive moving forward.
Cris Carter Shares Justin Jefferson’s Feelings on Vikings QB JJ McCarthy
GettyFormer receiver Cris Carter of the Minnesota Vikings.
In a December 22 article, Siddiqi revealed Carter’s thoughts on the Jefferson-McCarthy connection.
“They’ve just been one step, one fingertip off all year, that’s why it’s such a partnership between the quarterback” Carter said before explaining Jefferson’s rationale “I don’t expect him to hit me on my numbers in my face mask every play. I’m gonna make some catches even though he’s trying to throw the ball out of bounds. And then he’s gonna have to throw it in traffic — I might go in there and catch it. We have a partnership together. This is where you see the partnership, if each person is not holding their own weight.”
Carter also applauded Jefferson for his maturity and patience as McCarthy has developed in his first year as a starter.
“The thing about Justin is that he is more mature, and he does have $140 million reasons why,” Carter added. “But he is in such a partnership with Kevin O’Connell, and they meet on a regular basis, just like he meets with the quarterbacks as far as what the franchise is doing, what type of players do we need to make some type of adjustment, how you’re doing.
“For me, when we’ve had a lot of hotheads at wide receiver, I’m telling you, this is one of the best things I’ve seen Justin Jefferson do. Besides his footwork, his route run, his big playability, his maturity in this situation — and helping that quarterback and not telling the truth — which is not part of the wide receiver DNA, it’s been exceptional.”
Cris Carter Says Vikings Expected Struggles With McCarthy
Carter, who maintains a close connection with the Vikings franchise as a member of the Ring of Honor, admitted that they did not expect McCarthy to be a Pro Bowler coming out of the gate.
However, the injuries have hindered his career so far.
“We knew this was coming,” Carter said of McCarthy’s struggles. “We knew that he had been spoiled. But the connection with Kevin O’Connell, we didn’t think that the offseason, or the season last year, he was going to miss as many reps, quarterback reps. Because he couldn’t get on the field because he had one knee procedure, and he had to have another one to go correct some other things.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Vikings Legend Reveals Justin Jefferson’s Real Take on JJ McCarthy appeared first on Heavy Sports.