Don’t Expect the Vikings to Rush J.J. McCarthy onto the Field
Josh Frey
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The Minnesota Vikings started the 2024 NFL Draft off with a bang.
As anticipated, Minnesota made a trade up the draft board in order to snatch Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy with the 10th overall pick. Now, the question revolves around when exactly we could see the new Vikings QB take the field.
Well, according to a recent ESPN article from Kevin Seifert, it may be a bit later than some anticipate.
When Will J.J. McCarthy Take the Field for the Vikings?
“The Vikings will follow an individualized development plan they created for each of the quarterbacks they considered drafting, one that requires McCarthy to hit specific benchmarks and gives coach Kevin O’Connell full authority to make the timing decision,” Seifert explained.
Ultimately, this route makes a lot of sense from a Vikings standpoint. There is very little reason for Minnesota to rush McCarthy onto the field before he is 100% ready to lead an NFL offense. If the rookie QB isn’t ready to start Week 1 of the 2024 season, the Vikings have a veteran option in Sam Darnold who is making $10 million for a reason.
We’ve seen over and over again how rushing a young quarterback onto the field too early can derail their careers. Darnold is a perfect example of that playing behind an atrocious offensive line with the New York Jets with a wide receiver room that was led by Robbie Chosen and Jermaine Kearse during his rookie season of 2018.
Since a failed stint with the Jets, Darnold has spent time bouncing around the league as a backup between the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers.
Seifert elaborated more on that thought process during his article as well:
“The approach is designed to avoid the worst-case scenario — ruining McCarthy’s career by exposing him before he is ready — and is a big reason the Vikings spent $10 million in March to sign veteran Sam Darnold as a bridge starter. It’s a process O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah have been planning since meeting for the first time in 2022 during one of O’Connell’s final job interviews.”
Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah also discussed taking things slowly with McCarthy during his press conference following the draft, “A lot of times when we go back over history and say, ‘These quarterbacks have missed,’ there’s a lot of hands that are dirty in that regard. And we’re going to make sure that our hands are clean and give him the best opportunity he can to be the best player he can be in this offense.”
It is completely reasonable for Vikings fans to be excited about the addition of McCarthy. He is the first QB who has ever been selected by Minnesota with a top-10 pick, and anticipation for his first start will only continue to rise throughout the summer months.
Ultimately, though, the Vikings seem to be taking things slowly with their new rookie QB, and that decision could pay off in the long run.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.