National Narrative Has It Wrong on J.J. McCarthy
Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy talks to reporters on June 12th, 2025, at mandatory minicamp. Minnesota picked McCarthy 10th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, but the youngster missed all of his rookie season due to a torn meniscus that he suffered in a preseason game.
J.J. McCarthy will take the reins of the Minnesota Vikings in 2025, their first stab at an organically drafted quarterback to lead the enterprise in over a decade. The last time the experiment worked successfully was 25 years ago, and the man’s name was Daunte Culpepper.
J.J. McCarthy is in line to be the Vikings’ starting quarterback in 2025, and one narrative about him is incorrect.
And with the regular season less than three months away, some national voices vociferously claim that McCarthy is under a lot of pressure this season, especially after the Vikings won 14 games without him in 2024.
Here’s why that narrative is wrong.
J.J. McCarthy Is “Under a Lot of Pressure”
Some NFL analysts have recently debated which NFC North quarterbacks are under the most pressure this year, and ESPN’s Peter Schrager, for example, tabbed McCarthy.
Jun 10, 2025; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) practices during minicamp at the Minnesota Vikings Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images.
He stated on Get Up, “We’re focusing so much on Caleb this offseason and we’re just assuming that everything is fine in Minnesota, and because O’Connell and Kwesi decided to put their faith in J.J. McCarthy, that we know that this team is gonna be just as good as they were a year ago. Minnesota has everything you could want there already, it’s just plug and play.”
“Caleb Williams, you’re asking him to learn a new coach, a new offensive coordinator, an entirely new skill set of players.”
Dan Orlovsky, on the same program, countered, offering Chicago Bears passer Caleb Williams as an under-the-most-pressure alternative.
He told Schrager, “It’s really hard as a quarterback to do all that and not have the people than to do it with the people. Chicago got the people. I’ll go back to when Sean McVay went to LA, it was like ‘oh, Jared Goff doesn’t stink.’ When Mike McDaniel went to Miami, it was like ‘Oh man, Tua can play.’ And so now, there’s not gonna be any grace for Caleb Williams.”
“You have one of the hottest offensive minds in football. You’re gonna have a top-ten offensive line. You’ve got first-round pick, second-round pick, first-round pick, first-round pick at perimeter player. This is a place where a quarterback who is as talented as Caleb.”
Orlovsky also mentioned the Vikings: “Sam Darnold won 14 games last year, and they’re like we’re good, we got another guy. But here’s the thing. They will be! I love J.J. McCarthy. It’s the easiest place to go play quarterback. You should go play well there. If you’re worth your salt, you should go play well in Minnesota.”
The Guy … Is a 22-Year-Old Quarterback
McCarthy, of course, has some pressure to succeed as early as this season. He can’t utterly flop and expect folks to cheer him along the way.
