Vikings’ Most Important Player Is a Surprise

Last season, the Minnesota Vikings had a surprisingly good season, even without new quarterback J.J. McCarthy able to play. The team made it to the postseason, which very few expected going into 2024, but fell pretty flat in their last few games. Now, the Vikings are fresh and ready to take on a new season, and this time, they’ll finally be able to test McCarthy out and see how he does in the professional league.

But, heading into the new season, McCarthy isn’t considered one of the most important Minnesota Vikings players on the squad, at least not according to a new study. Following the NFL draft and NFL schedule release, PFF has unleashed its report of each NFL team’s three best players of 2025.

In this particular study, they did go by stats from previous seasons, so that would obviously hurt McCarthy in the ranking. But, either way, it’s interesting to see who they picked as the most important guys heading into the new year.

“While quarterback remains the most important position in the sport, every roster has a core, the foundational players who will ultimately determine the ceiling and stability of a team in 2025,” NFL analyst and expert Trevor Sikkema notes in the May 20 feature.

Minnesota Vikings’ Top Players of 2025

Sikkema’s choices for the most important players on the Vikings’ roster is fascinating. As mentioned, McCarthy isn’t on there, but one of his sidekicks, so to say, is No. 1 in wide receiver Justin Jefferson. It’s a bit of a surprise, but when you think about it, Jefferson has the stats and is critical to the team, so it makes sense.

The two other guys who round out the three most important players on their team this season are offensive tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill. So, it’s all about the numbers and past performance, and these three Vikings players had the goods to make the tally.

“Jefferson ranks second among all wide receivers in cumulative WAR over the last three seasons, behind only Amon-Ra St. Brown. His 88.0 grade in 2024 narrowly missed a fifth straight season above 90.0,” Trevor Sikkema noted in the piece. “Darrisaw played only 392 snaps last year but continues to rank among the league’s best when healthy. O’Neill earned a 0.43 WAR, the third-highest mark on the team in 2024.”

McCarthy’s Latest Quarterback Ranking

In a separate PFF feature out published on May 20, the publication gives its quarterback rankings going into the new season. The list is “based on a combination of recent performance and career trajectory.”

McCarthy is at No. 21, which actually is pretty good considering he hasn’t even played one regular season NFL game yet in his young career.

“I’m leaning on my personal evaluation here, as I had McCarthy as the top quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft,” NFL analyst and expert John Kosko of PFF noted. “We didn’t get to see him as a rookie, but his 2023 season at Michigan — where he earned a 92.2 PFF grade and a 93.4 passing grade — highlighted everything you want in a young passer.”

He added, “If he’s fully healthy in 2025, and considering what Sam Darnold managed in this offense, McCarthy is set up to succeed.”