JJ McCarthy: The FUTURE Of THE Minnesota Vikings

we were told that JJ McCarthy was going to be a first round pick and he was going to the Vikings at 10 after they traded up to get him there have certainly been a lot of criticisms about him and questions of whether or not he should even go in the first round but he was the fifth quarterback off the board after Michael penck which was certainly a surprise sure McCarthy didn't put up the craziest numbers playing for Jim Harbaugh but he played well and won a lot of football games in his time there he didn't start at all his true freshman year he backed up Kade mcamera and had just 500 yards five touchdowns and two interceptions in relief the next season the two competed for the starting job through the first two games and McCarthy won it he went on the throw for 2700 yards 22 touchdowns and five interceptions as Michigan lost one game falling to TCU in the college football playoff 51-45 that was the only loss McCarthy suffered as a starter in college last season he had about 3,000 yards 22 touchdowns in four interceptions but most importantly he went 15-0 and led Michigan to a National Championship win after beating Alabama and Washington in the college football playoff he is the greatest quarterback in Michigan football history and yes even ahead of Tom Brady JJ McCarthy is a winner that's what he did best at Ann Arbor and the Vikings could use a winner especially at quarterback Kurt Cousins has started the past six straight years for the Vikings but last season he tours Achilles after just eight games he was consistently good and pretty expensive he threw more than 25 touchdowns in his first five seasons in Minnesota and took the Vikes to the playoffs twice it felt like Minnesota kept wanting to move on and improve at the position but it's not that simple he's now no longer in Minneapolis and left a huge hole at quarterback one that general manager queso fensa filled with Sam darnold darnold spent the last season in San Francisco but he only started in one game the 49ers final game of the season he started 56 games and was once the third overall pick to the Jets back in 2018 so he understands what high expectations feel like darnold could be a good Mentor for JJ McCarthy or just a bridge quarterback if the Vikings want him to sit and learn Sam darnold will likely start week one but I'm willing to bet that McCarthy will start at some point Minnesota also has vet Nick Mullin and took jiren Hall in the fifth round last year quarterback was a big need for the Vikings and they filled that by drafting JJ McCarthy it's actually the third time Minnesota has drafted a quarterback in the first round since 2011 like this year the 2011 NFL draft had quarterbacks selected at picks 1 8 10 and 12 Cam Newton Jake Locker Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder none of them got a normal rookie off season because of the lockout the Vikes traded for Donovan McNab to Mentor Ponder but McNab struggled and Ponder eventually took over starting duties starting 10 games throwing for 1900 yards 13 touchdown Downs in 13 interceptions wasn't anything spectacular 2012 was the only year he started every game in a season Ponder threw for 2900 yards 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions it was definitely the best season of his pro career he went into 2013 as the Viking starter but got hurt Matt Castle took over and the Vikings also signed Josh Freeman it was a very disappointing year for Ponder he had 1,600 yards seven touchdowns and nine interceptions and it only got worse from there Ponder only started once in 2014 the final start of his NFL career where he threw two picks the only reason Ponder even started that game was because of an injury to the Vikings new first round quarterback Teddy Bridgewater it's been a decade since it's happened but yes the Vikings did take a quarterback in the first round two times within a 4-year span Teddy Bridgewater went 32nd overall he was the third quarterback off the board behind Blake Bortles and Johnny Manzel Bridgewater started the season backing up Matt CLE but he broke his foot in week three so Bridgewater took over he went on to start 12 games throwing for 2900 y 14 touchdowns and 12 picks he started in every game for the Vikes The Following season and Bridgewater made the Pro Bowl after he had 3200 yards 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions the Vikings won the NFC North but lost in the wild card to the Seahawks in one of the coldest games in NFL history and yes I'm talking about the game where Blair Walsh iconically missed a 27 yd field goal Bridgewater had a bright future in Minnesota but then he tore his ACL and suffered structural damage with a dislocation of the knee joint he never started again for the Vikings he was injured on August 30th 2016 and he didn't play again until December 17th 2017 he got a standing ovation in relief of Case Keenum the last time he stepped on the field as a viking much like RG3 in Washington his career in Minnesota is certainly a question of what if now no Christian Ponder Teddy Bridgewater didn't exactly work out his first round picks but JJ McCarthy could that is if the Vikings help him develop luckily for JJ McCarthy life is easier as an NFL quarterback when you have an elite wide receiver to throw the ball to and McCarthy will have that in justtin Jefferson you can't say enough about just how good Jefferson has been in the pros he only played in 10 games last year because of a hamstring injury and still had over 1,000 yards in five touchdowns on 68 receptions the season before Jefferson had 128 receptions and 1,89 yards both led the league by the way and he also added eight touchdowns on his way to winning offensive player of the year last year the Vikings took Jordan Addison 23rd overall and he put together a good rookie season with 70 catches 900 yards and 10 touchdowns the Vikings have a great one-two punch at wide receiver not to mention TJ hackinson is there at tight end in his first full season in Minneapolis Hawk had 9 60 yards and 95 receptions both career highs for him and he added five touchdowns there are some serious pass catchers on the Vikings roster and Minnesota's o line was also much better last season than the season before right tackle Brian O'Neal Right Guard Ed Ingram and left guard Blake brandle are all returning starters but left tackle Christian darasa is the name to know he's already an elite tackle and he may be the most important player on the roster when it comes to the development of AJ McCarthy I mean it's either him or Justin Jefferson head coach Kevin oconnell is entering his third season in Minnesota and it's time for him to develop a Young quarterback he's had consistency at the position for a while now it was Kurt Cousins for the Vikings and before that he was the Rams offensive coordinator and had Matthew Stafford it'll be a change up not having a proven Veteran running his offense and instead maybe a rookie JJ McCarthy is the bigname quarterback that the Vikings took in the first round but it wasn't their only first round pick the Vikings traded up to 17 at the draft to take outside linebacker Dallas Turner he was the ninth best recruit in the 2021 class and committed to play for Nick Sabin at Alabama he spent the beginning of his freshman season on special teams and part of the Crimson Tide's pass rush rotation before he started in three games he played in every game recording 30 tackles in eight and 1 half sacks in 2021 Turner got 10 starts and played in 13 games with 37 tackles and four sacks last season though was his true breakout campaign he started in every game and had 53 tackles and 10 sacks Turner was even a consensus All-American for his efforts he was really good at Alabama he just had to wait his turn but that probably won't be the same in Minnesota he could slide right in across Jonathan grenard this season and that Brian Flores defense the Vikings are definitely set up for the future but they're already behind the eightball when it comes to the rest of the NFC North Minnesota won the division in 2022 after going 133 and4 but they lost in the wild card to the Giants now it looks like the NFC North is Detroit's to lose the Lions had a lot of success last season they rolled through the season to the NFC Championship where they eventually lost to the 49ers head coach Dan Campbell is doing a great job there in Detroit and Jared gof is also playing really well then if you look at the Packers who used to own the Division their future is also bright Jordan love exceeded expectations in year one as the starter Green Bay is Young and should only get better then there's the Bears who just drafted Caleb Williams first overall and took Romo dun eight picks later Chicago has a bright future now too this was a big draft for the Vikings they have to hit pretty much on everything to ensure that they don't end up behind in the NFC North but it's kind of hard to say if their future looks better than the Packers or bears right now JJ McCarthy needs to be a hit Minnesota clearly took him for a reason but the Vikes need a quarterback and hopefully he can be the guy

Channel: J&D Productions

Views: 33,179

Keywords: jj mccarthy, vikings, minnesota vikings, kevin o'connell, justin jefferson, sam darnold, kirk cousins, 2024 nfl draft, nfl draft, caleb williams, drake maye, jayden daniels, michael penix jr., bo nix, nfl, football

Id: VRH_fkeVv3A

Length: 9min 1sec (541 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 27 2024