Vikings Given Stark Warning Against Hastily Turning The QB Keys Over To JJ McCarthy

The Minnesota Vikings‘ quarterback situation seems to be the only thing going through Vikings fans’ minds since the football season ended abruptly almost two weeks ago.

And whilst Sam Darnold is unlikely to break the bank if he stays in Minnesota, the team should tread carefully when thinking about potentially jettisoning him for former #10 overall pick, JJ McCarthy, according to former NFL scout and current podcast host, John Middlekauff.

Is It Wise For The Vikings To Place Their Full Faith In McCarthy?

“Minnesota can do whatever; like, I think its pretty easy to justify: ‘Listen, we drafted this guy high going at it’… You’re going to depend on a player who was on a dominant college football team, and he was not tasked with like, ‘hey bro, this is going to be one of those games – our defense is playing [poorly]…and we’re going to need 35 points’…he’s never had to do that.

And not saying that he can’t because he can learn to. But they’re [the Vikings] are going to come in next season with goals…you have a team that is ready made to just be competitive. And that’s a lot of pressure to put on one player who’s never started an NFL game.”

Going from the – admittedly flawed – experienced veteran, Sam Darnold, to a very much unknown product in JJ McCarthy is certainly something that should be looked at with considerable care.

Especially, as Middlekauff points out, McCarthy lacked game-changing, “put the team on your back” moments whilst leading a stacked roster on the national championship-winning Michigan team of 2023-24.

Darnold VS McCarthy – Is There A Big Gap?

Many believe that Darnold is, essentially, the ‘best case scenario’ version of McCarthy – and if they both came in at the same price point, the decision would be almost automatic in favor of Darnold, particularly since the former #3 overall pick is still just 27 years of age.

But after the former Jet’s late-season fumbles as the going got tough – firstly in the final regular season game against the Detroit Lions; where he went 0-4 on touchdowns in four trips to the red zone; and then in a total demolition against the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round, his future has been in jeopardy.

McCarthy showed some positive ability in Ann Arbor, but the primary concern for many teams did seem to be his so-called ‘low floor’; whether he was truly able to have the team win because of his play, rather than just not cause the team to lose.

In many ways, that does mirror Darnold’s play (at least up until the end of) last season, and if the team can get a level of play that is similar to Darnold’s for around 1/10th of the price, it would be quite the bargain.

But as Middlekauff points out, even if the QB is not the focal point in head coach, Kevin O’Connell’s offense, where the scheme, offensive weapons and dynamic run game all complement quarterback’s role, putting full trust into a player that has not played a single professional football game, and is coming off a serious season-ending injury – particularly with a player like Darnold already in-house – is perhaps an unnecessary risk.