The Minnesota Vikings won’t have Sam Darnold to save the day in 2025, but now it’s time to see what 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy is capable of. McCarthy may have even been in line to emerge as the Vikings’ starting quarterback last year before a knee injury ended his season before it could even get started.
Yet, the Vikings did get a good look at the former Michigan QB all throughout training camp and even a preseason game. Plus, let’s not forget, this was a first-round prospect who many believe would have been the second quarterback selected if he had entered the 2025 NFL Draft instead.
So, as McCarthy gets set to take over as the Vikings’ starting QB, what kind of expectations should fans have for the former Michigan star?
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer was recently tasked with answering that same question and he threw out a pretty lofty comparison.
“If you’re asking if he’s going to be Patrick Mahomes in 2018 in his second year, after sitting through his first, then, no, I don’t think that’s realistic.
SI’s Albert Breer on J.J. McCarthy
But after looking through the last 10 years or so, I think I did find a situation that might be comparable—and that’s Deshaun Watson in 2018. The difference is that Watson played a lot as a rookie. Other than that? Watson suffered a season-ending knee injury in his first year. And he returned in Year 2 to a team that had been a contender, making the playoffs in 2015 and ’16 without a star at quarterback. He also had an offensive-minded head coach, a true No. 1 receiver at the height of his powers, and good line in front of him.”
While Watson is a punchline now, he enjoyed a Pro Bowl season in 2018, helping the Houston Texans win 11 games and a playoff berth. He finished with 26 touchdowns and just nine interceptions, which are the kind of numbers the Vikings would likely be happy with from their new starter.
Though, Watson also suffered an NFL-high 62 sacks that season as he worked to recover from the season-ending knee injury in 2017. The Vikings obviously hope to avoid the same fate, but perhaps that’s why they invested extra into the offensive line throughout the offseason, giving them a group that now projects to be a top-five unit.
Aside from the raw numbers, it’s not hard to see some parallels between Watson and McCarthy’s situation.
Watson had an alpha receiver in DeAndre Hopkins, an offensive-minded head coach in Bill O’Brien, and a respectable offensive line. Doesn’t that sound awfully familiar to what the Vikings have built in Minnesota, providing their QB with arguably the NFL’s best receiver, Justin Jefferson, and the reigning NFL Coach of the Year, Kevin O’Connell?
Breer did set some high expectations for McCarthy, but there’s no reason why the former National Champion can’t reach a similar level of play.
Related: 2025 NFL QB Rankings: Where does J.J. McCarthy rank among starters?
