J.J. McCarthy’s Subtle Leadership in Two Examples
By default, a quarterback is a leader.
The position demands a ton of confidence to hear the play, relay it to players in the huddle, make appropriate adjustments at the line of scrimmage pre-snap, and then handle the pressure of being the center of attention on a play-by-play basis.
J.J. McCarthy appears to be up to the challenge.
The 22-year-old impresses pretty much everyone he comes across. Earlier in the week, Kay Adams discussed his status within Minnesota’s quarterback room and the kid nailed his answer (which is to say nothing of the impact he left on Camryn Bynum). So, too, has he been impressing the GM, as Kwesi Adofo-Mensah explained in his press conference. A bit lost in the shuffle, perhaps, are a couple other moments when McCarthy’s leadership shined through.
J.J. McCarthy’s Leadership
In fairness, the sophomore finds himself in a tricky spot.
The young fella has never played a regular season snap and yet he’s being asked to jump into the most important position in the game, one that demands leadership. A tricky balance needs to be struck where he fulfills the demands of his position while still respecting the players like Justin Jefferson, Brian O’Neill, Harrison Smith, Andrew Van Ginkel, Jonathan Greenard, Aaron Jones, and several others. Minnesota isn’t lacking for accomplished veterans.
Consider one way, though, that he has been doing a nice job of threading the needle: making an effort to welcome the new additions to Minnesota.
In his press conference, Ryan Kelly — a nine-year veteran who has four Pro Bowl nods and has been a second-team All Pro — explained that McCarthy reached out: “Just having some brief conversations with J.J. so far, and getting a kind of a feel for people in the facility on how they view him; he’s fiery, man. He’s got some stuff to him now, and he’s got that energy that you want as a quarterback.” Kelly goes on to praise McCarthy’s “edge.”
Similarly, newcomer Jordan Mason met with the media. Consider who he had spoken with up until that point: “I’ve chatted with a few guys. I’ve chatted with Aaron Jones, chatted with QB, J.J. Chatted with a few guys on the offensive line, chatted with C.J. Ham.”
Folks, consider who gets mentioned specifically (it’s a bit unclear who along the o-line reached out). Jones has been in the NFL for eight seasons; Ham has been putting in work for nine NFL seasons. Makes sense for them to reach out to a new runner, but McCarthy is only a second-year player. Nice initiative for the 22-year-old to be confident enough to reach out to guys who are now calling Minnesota home.
Step back a bit further and consider those three players: Ryan Clark, Jordan Mason, and J.J. McCarthy. How many plays in 2025 are going to involve the center snapping the ball to the quarterback before he then hands it off to the running back? Our current vantage point suggests that those players are going to be exchanging the football between the three of them with a fair degree of regularity, so beginning to get comfortable around each other is a positive step.
J.J. McCarthy is going to be given a tremendous chance at success because of the resources around him. Reigning NFL Coach of the Year Kevin O’Connell is going to design a great offense and the support from his teammates is going to be excellent. The o-line now looks like a strength and the skill is second to none.
McCarthy, for his part, appears to be doing everything right. He simply needs to continue on his current trajectory and work toward fulfilling his tremendous potential. The leadership part of the mix seems to come pretty easy.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.
