J.J. McCarthy Will Make One Viking’s Life Much Easier
While Kirk Cousins obviously was one of the better quarterbacks during his time in Minnesota, there is no secret he had his limitations.
There is no denying that Cousins has some of the most underrated and underappreciated arm talent in this era of the NFL, but there is also evidence that he had some mental limitations in key spots. However, we are going to cast the spotlight upon one of his physical limitations.
Cousins is an underrated athlete. He did have some sneaky speed when he was willing to use it, but those instances were rare. He did show signs of improvement at navigating the pocket deeper into his tenure with the Vikings as the offensive line got better, but too many times it seemed he would turtle without moving in the pocket.
This reality led some Vikings fans to fantasize about a young and mobile quarterback with the natural instincts to feel pressure and use his athleticism to avoid it and extend the play, keeping his eyes downfield while evading defenders. Well, the Vikings fulfilled that fantasy by drafting Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy with the 10th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.
There have been a lot of comparisons between Cousins and McCarthy, and that comes naturally when you’re transitioning to a new quarterback after having the other for the past six seasons. The reality, though, is that they really don’t have super similar playstyles.
Cousins is a prototypical pocket passer with limited ability to extend plays, though he can dissect defenses with the best of them. McCarthy is much more of an improviser, preferring to hit his first read quickly, but he also has an above-average ability to sense pressure and extend plays.
J.J. McCarthy’s Positive Impact for One Viking
So, who benefits most from McCarthy’s athleticism who is already on the Vikings? Technically, it’s fair to say it benefits everyone on the offensive line, but the question is asking who benefits the most. As you probably could’ve guessed, that would be LT Christian Darrisaw.
Being the blindside blocker, knowing that he has a quarterback behind him who can effectively evade pressure should put much less pressure on him in his job. It has to be frustrating for the tackles with prototypical pocket-passing quarterbacks when they look around the league and see this new wave of mobile guys that are just as effective throwing from the pocket as the “statues” of the league.
This isn’t to say Darrisaw and the rest of the line didn’t enjoy protecting Cousins. It’s obvious they did, and the veteran QB was a beloved figure in the locker room.
However, it isn’t crazy to say that they may be excited to protect a quarterback who is much more willing to use his legs to get himself out of sticky situations instead of them having to play nearly perfect to have a higher chance of a play staying on time.
The timing of McCarthy coming onboard is important as well for Christian Darrisaw as he will begin negotiating his new contract, which probably will be record breaking, very soon. A mobile quarterback that will make his job easier, thus improving his analytics and numbers that will be brought up at the negotiation table, could definitely financially benefit Darrisaw as well.
The drafting of McCarthy potentially made Darrisaw a happy man, taking weight off his shoulders and maybe even putting more money in his pockets. Time will only tell if it benefits in the most important category: winning.
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