When the Minnesota Vikings decided not to re-sign veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins in free agency, it signaled that the organization would be going in a different direction under center.
The Vikings signed Sam Darnold in free agency to a one-year, $10 million contract, but most fans knew that Minnesota wouldn’t be content with a Darnold/Jaren Hall/Nick Mullens quarterback room for 2024.
Therefore, Minnesota decided to use one of their two first-round picks on former Michigan QB JJ McCarthy. The decision to go with McCarthy was puzzling as he didn’t put up stellar stats with the Wolverines, despite leading them to a national title this past season.
However, head coach Kevin O’Connell and the rest of the Vikings’ front office felt he was the best option for them in the first round.
Fast forward to the spring and mandatory minicamps, and McCarthy is behind the eight-ball when it comes to the starting quarterback job.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reported that the rookie is “squarely behind” Darnold on the depth chart through two days of minicamp and one final week of OTAs remaining. Seifert adds that Darnold has taken “nearly all of the first-team reps,” while McCarthy has received reps after Mullens.
If you are a Green Bay Packers fan, you have to be loving this as Darnold nor McCarthy exactly strikes fear into the hearts of defenders.
Seifert pointed out that some of McCarthy’s throws haven’t been accurate, despite having “plenty of juice.”
For everyone asking about J.J. McCarthy, this 2-throw sequence more or less encapsulates what we’ve seen this spring. First throw (from/to right) is on target. Second (from/to left) isn’t. My 2 cents: nothing unusual. pic.twitter.com/xJYb45C1lv
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) June 5, 2024
The Packers’ first time seeing the Vikings won’t happen until Week 4 on Sept. 29. We should have a better idea of who Minnesota’s starting quarterback will be by then. However, Packers fans should be sitting comfortably knowing that they have their franchise guy, while Vikings fans might be wondering if they took the right quarterback in the draft.
Be the first to comment