The Minnesota Vikings are off to an 3-0 start. Sam Darnold has seemingly revived his career under Kevin O’Connell’s tutelage. Justin Jefferson is doing his thing, and the defense is firing on cylinders we’re not accustomed to as fans. Amidst all of this early-season success, one man has somewhat been forgotten.
Fast forward to the start of next season. Let’s assume the Vikings have a successful regular season, make the playoffs, and win a playoff game or two. Darnold will likely get a long-term deal from a QB-needy team, or maybe he decides his talents are best used within O’Connell’s system and chooses to stay. Either way, McCarthy is the future, and that won’t change regardless of how well Darnold plays.
As frustrating as it was for fans to hear that McCarthy would miss the entire season, sitting out might work out best for himself and the team. He can learn from the sidelines while the team remains competitive with a veteran QB.
Rookie quarterbacks rarely succeed when they play immediately. So, assuming he makes his first start next season, he will be entering a more favorable situation for his first NFL action. He will walk into one of the best offensive systems in the league, which made Joshua Dobbs look like a star in 2023 and has Sam Darnold looking like an early MVP candidate in it.
The hope is that McCarthy enters his first start with a healthy Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, and Jalen Nailor, which wouldn’t have been the case this season. O’Connell will have another year of calling his evolving offense before McCarthy sets foot on the field.
However, McCarthy’s situation will be more favorable next year mainly because a competent organization drafted him.
Darnold, Baker Mayfield, Geno Smith, and Malik Willis started out with organizations known for their incompetence in nurturing and developing highly drafted quarterbacks. Smith and Darnold both started out with the New York Jets, who failed to develop either of them before taking Zach Wilson No. 2 overall in 2021.
Mayfield had moderate success with the Cleveland Browns, including winning a playoff game for the first time since Bill Belichick was coaching them in 1994. However, Mayfield was injured and played poorly in his final season with Cleveland. They replaced him with Deshaun Watson, a star with the Houston Texans, who has played poorly and been the subject of multiple lawsuits. The Tennessee Titans drafted Willis but never gave him a real opportunity.
The Titans traded him to the Green Bay Packers at the end of training camp. Willis has looked great under LaFleur and Co. after starting quarterback Jordan Love went down with an injury. The point is that many executives, managers, and coaches know how to ruin a young quarterback far better than they know how to ensure that the quarterback is put in the best position possible to succeed.
That’s not the case with KOC. O’Connell has made every QB that’s started a game for the Vikes look average at the minimum and better than that most of the time. O’Connell has called a game where backup QB Nick Mullens threw for 400-plus yards, so what can he do with J.J. McCarthy when he finally hits the field as a starter? The sky’s the limit. McCarthy will undoubtedly be the most physically gifted QB who has hit the field for the Vikings with KOC on the headset.
Whether McCarthy enters the season as the starter next season is a discussion for another day. However, one thing’s for sure: As long as O’Connell is in the building with him, the Vikings will be more than okay heading into the future.
