The Young Viking Getting Called a “Maniac” Who is “Fiery” and Who Brings “Juice”
J.J. McCarthy, a young Viking at just 22-years-old, has already seen quite a bit in his (very) short NFL career.
Drafted at No. 10 in the 2024 NFL Draft, Mr. McCarthy has been part of a summer competition to be Minnesota’s QB1, he has suffered a season-ending injury and subsequent rehab, had a first-row seat to a 14-win season, and has been a bystander within his team’s confessed dalliance with Aaron Rodgers. Goodness, he’s even been tossed into the trade rumor mill a time or two.
All of this and the young man still hasn’t thrown a single regular season pass.
The good news is simply that Minnesota’s highly-drafted passer has handled every tricky situation with aplomb. His offseason last year was impressive. His ability to navigate the many difficulties of a long, gruelling rehab was impressive. His ability to navigate offseason speculation has been impressive. Several Vikings veterans have taken notice.
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Begin with a player who took off: Camryn Bynum, the veteran safety who is second-to-none when it comes to dance moves.
The Colts addition was quite outgoing when discussing McCarthy. In fact, Bynum labelled him a “maniac” for the quarterback’s desire to soak up football knowledge. Appearing on Good Morning Football, Bynum notes that J.J. McCarthy struck a good balance between displaying leadership while nevertheless being a humble rookie in a locker room full of accomplished veterans. The defender then delivers the “maniac” tidbit for McCarthy’ desire to “learn any way he can.”
Stick with the safeties: Harrison Smith also had good things to say.
The 36-year-old defender was talking to Kay Adams. The conversation covered different topics, one of which being the young guy who will be taking the season’s opening snap (as long as health cooperates). The Hitman says that he’s a “young kid [who has] a lot of juice.” Now, keep in mind that Adams was seeking input from Smith about how to navigate her upcoming interview with McCarthy, but Smith’s words are nevertheless notable. In a sense, Smith is offering a broad statement about the quarterback’s personality. Having “juice” is a good thing, a great compliment in the world of NFL football.
Finally, kick it over to a different player — new center Ryan Kelly — and what the established lineman had to say.
Kelly was reflecting on his history with the Colts and how he can help the young Viking: “Just having some brief conversations with J.J. so far, and getting a kind of a feel for people in the facility and how they view him, he’s fiery, man […] I think you need that edge.” Kelly then observes that McCarthy “wants to prove who he can be in this league” while explaining that the QB “wants to lead this team to an NFC North title, he wants to go to the NFC Championship Game, the Super Bowl.”
Add it all together and what kind of picture emerges about J.J. McCarthy? A tremendous competitor who is hungry for knowledge and who is very keen about doing what he can to help the Vikings win. Partner that with the praise from Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and there’s reason for optimism.
The sophomore will be carrying a $4,966,999 cap charge into the season. If he lives up to his potential, McCarthy will prove to be a tremendous value.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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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.