3 Reasons Why New QB J.J. McCarthy Doesn’t Need To Be Kirk Cousins
There’s no secret that, for at least the present time, going from Kirk Cousins to J.J. McCarthy is a downgrade.
This is obviously fine, since Minnesota is very obviously pushing for a youth movement (including McCarthy himself) to build a young nucleus that will compete for years to come under Kevin O’Connell’s lead.
Vikings fans are well accustomed to the typical Kirk Cousins 30TD/9INT template of a season, which always ranks near the top of the league. So how can the Vikings compete in the current time if they’re going to be losing out on top-tier level quarterback play?
The Vikings’ Improved Defense
While Kirk Cousins might have had a bountiful amount of offensive talent to work with during his tenure in Minnesota, but in the teeth of his Vikings career from 2020-2023, his defenses were absolutely abysmal. In fairness, it must also be brought up that Minnesota had above-average to good defenses in 2018 and 2019. Taking it all into account, Cousins often didn’t get much help from the other side of the ball. 2024 seemed to be a different story before he blew an Achilles at Lambeau Field, as Minnesota’s defense was making a clear turnaround under new defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
The defense was consistently hot last season, with a little bit of a trail-off at the end, but it is fair to put some of that on the fact that the Vikings offense was turning the ball over at a laughable rate under Nick Mullens. Assuming the unit continues its trend upwards, McCarthy will be settling down into an offense loaded with weapons, and a defense that is organized by one of the best defensive minds in the modern NFL. That alone is an advantage that J.J. McCarthy could have over Kirk Cousins the minute he steps on to the turf, whether that is later in 2024, or Week 1 of 2025.
McCarthy’s Mobility
As surgical from the pocket as Kirk Cousins was, and as much underrated athletic ability as he had to offer, he didn’t exactly put his athletic ability to use to extend plays. The difference between Cousins’ and McCarthy’s abilities to extend plays is night and day. It’s not that Kirk couldn’t throw on the run or anything when he would commit to, it’s more that it seemed he lacked that desire or willingness to more quickly break the pocket to extend the play off-script.
Turn on J.J. McCarthy’s tape, and you’ll see that he is more than willing to make a defender miss in the pocket and escape all while keeping his eyes downfield. It’s an incredibly mature trait to have for someone that was 19 and 20 years old playing high-level collegiate football, and it’s a fantastic natural tendency to have in a young quarterback. There will be growing pains, as it is likely that early on in his career he will want to get out of the pocket too quickly, but if that instinct can get tuned to the feeling of NFL pressure packages, then that is instantly a phase to the game that McCarthy provides that Kirk Cousins didn’t exactly.
Passing Numbers Aren’t Everything
Yes, the NFL in 2024 is very much a passing league, but that doesn’t mean you need to throw for 5,000 yards and 40 TDs to abide by that. In the same way a passing league can be about that, it’s just as much, if not more about converting on passing downs. Racking up really cool looking stats is awesome, but it doesn’t mean anything if you’re not converting on third-and-longs at a high clip.
Converting in those situations is where McCarthy exceled in his last season at Michigan, posting a 72.9% completion percentage, 537 yards on 11.2 yards per attempt, 6 TDs, 0 INTs, and 27 first downs on 35 scenarios of 3rd & 7 or longer, by far the best numbers among quarterbacks in the 2024 rookie class. The kid is the real deal when called upon, which is why it is so baffling that a significant portion of the NFL’s various fanbases are hesitant to have confidence in his abilities when his team needs him to throw the ball.
It isn’t as simple as expecting McCarthy to replicate Kirk Cousins’ average season and that is the only way the Vikings will go as far (?) as they did with him. It’s much more about the young team that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is building around McCarthy in order to give him the best shot possible to do what he has done best his entire football career dating back to high school: win.
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