Remember the halcyon days when we were parsing through J.J. McCarthy’s preseason start, trying to find clues about how he’d play after recovering from this season-ending meniscus tear?
It was an age of innocence. A time before McCarthy needed to lead a miracle comeback to beat the Chicago Bears in his NFL debut, or sprained his ankle in an 11-for-21, two-interception effort against the Atlanta Falcons a week later.
There wasn’t much to discover in that first preseason game. McCarthy played one drive and finished four of seven for 30 yards. People will remember his fourth-down scamper that moved the chains and that throw to Jordan Addison.
Never mind that McCarthy’s throw was a little off, or that Donovan Jackson tripped and created pressure in his face. McCarthy avoided pressure, and Addison bailed out his 22-year-old quarterback.
“It was just all the work we built up to this point,” McCarthy said after the game. “That’s a 25-yard out cut, and just being able to trust that timing in real time, and trust the protection. It was a huge kind of growing rep that I felt like just injected confidence in my being, going to the next one.”
McCarthy threw three of his completions to Addison. The other was a checkdown to C.J. Ham. Justin Jefferson didn’t play, so Addison was McCarthy’s No. 1 option. Still, McCarthy lit up when talking about Minnesota’s jitterbug receiver. It was evident he had built up chemistry with the third-year receiver.
However, Addison started the season on a three-game suspension for a “wet reckless” incident in July 2024. McCarthy had Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson, and most of the offensive line at his disposal in Week 1. The Vikings also traded for Adam Thielen to give him a veteran target. Still, he probably would have benefited from Addison’s presence.
We shouldn’t read too far into preseason stats. Sam Howell was 11 of 13 for 105 yards in Minnesota’s first preseason game, and the team traded him in late August, replacing Howell with Carson Wentz.
Despite Wentz’s shortcomings, he’s found an instant connection with Addison.
“I mean, he’s just really good,” Wentz said after the Philadelphia Eagles game. “[Addison is] really good and gets open. Obviously, Jets draws attention every single snap, whether they’re trying to cloud him or put two guys over him, like they did a couple times today.”
Jefferson is still Minnesota’s star receiver and has been more productive with Wentz than Addison. Jefferson has 34 receptions for 477 yards since Wentz took over for McCarthy in Week 3. However, Addison isn’t far behind with 21 receptions for 309.
Defenses focus primarily on stopping Jefferson, which should open things up for Addison, Hockenson, and Minnesota’s tertiary targets. Still, while Wentz has frequently overthrown Jefferson, he seems to reflectively hit Addison on the numbers in high-leverage situations.
“I have a lot of trust that he’s going to be where he needs to be,” Wentz said after the Eagles game, “and he kept coming up big time and time again today.”
McCarthy never had Addison as an outlet. That doesn’t fully explain his inability to get out of the huddle quickly, taking sacks in crucial situations, or that pick-six in Chicago. Still, a receiver who can get open like Addison can be a young quarterback’s best friend, especially as a second option to Jefferson.
The big question is whether their chemistry from training camp, which feels like eons ago, will carry over to a Week 9 game in Detroit.
“What [McCarthy] showed today, he’s been showing it all week, all camp,” Addison said after Minnesota’s first preseason game. “I just feel like he came out here and trusted what he’d been working on in practice.”
It feels odd looking back at what Jordan Addison said about J.J. McCarthy halfway through the season. But, in many ways, Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions is their last chance at a reset. Much rides on McCarthy’s shoulders. Fortunately, Addison will be there to lighten the load.
