Rob Kleifield

OK, do we really know anything about J.J. McCarthy?

That's the question ESPN analyst Ben Solak posed as part of aprobe of sophomore NFL quarterbacks, setting the scene for 24 of 32 teams, including the Vikings, to open their mandatory minicamps Tuesday.

The question aligns with a steady amount of skepticism that's peppered Minnesota in the offseason, despite its efficiency in free agency and the NFL Draft fair or not, uncertainty is attached to McCarthy.

We know why.

Minnesota won 14 games with quarterback Sam Darnold running the offense in his first season with the team. Darnold's resurgence resulted in a Pro Bowl stake and a rich new deal with Seattle. The Vikings defense thrived in unison, befuddling opponents and leading to career years for Andrew Van Ginkel, Byron Murphy, Jr., and others. In short, that squad was well-rounded and don't forget, just a win shy of the conference's top seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs, which might've changed its grisly fate.

That's to say, after retooling their interior offensive line, adding a veteran pass-rush presence up front on defense, and retaining the nucleus of a formidable team in terms of both players and coaches the Vikings shouldn't be far off from competing, again, for a division title and contending for the Super Bowl.

Which brings us back to McCarthy, who was drafted 10th overall in 2024 but tore his meniscus in his right knee during his lone exhibition game against Las Vegas.

So, what do we really know about him?

We know McCarthy is 22 years old but speaks and carries himself like a 10-year pro. We know he aced his rehabilitation process, staying involved in position meetings when he couldn't get reps on the practice field, and adding some weight to his frame as he regained his strength and matured normally. We know he's a winner, as he went 27-1 at Michigan and closed college with a national championship.

We also know McCarthy can really spin it and is a smooth runner. We know his traits are foundational to the modern-era quarterbacks that excel at extending plays and nailing throws off-kilter when they must.

All that, however, has yet to be realized in a game that counts.

In his attempt to answer his own question, Solak takes a reasonable approach, avoiding what we don't know, yet, about McCarthy's ability against premier NFL talent, and focusing on his environment instead.

Solak wrote the following in his assessment:

We know that although there's no such thing as a QB-proof offense, the Vikings are about as close as it gets. Their pair of easy separating receivers in Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison are known for their route running and quickness, but it's their ball tracking and catch radius that really make them QB-friendly they can erase an inaccuracy, especially down the field. The Vikings were one of the heaviest pre-snap motion teams last season, as well as one of the heaviest play-action teams, and Head Coach Kevin O'Connell pulls both levers to create easy reads for his quarterback.

Additionally, Solak noted Minnesota's revamped o-line ought to foster an improved rushing attack and shorten third-down distances, which could reduce the number of dropbacks McCarthy is asked to take.

Solak concluded that if McCarthy is "athletically back," there's an optimism about Minnesota.

Diving into Vikings' 2025 outlook

Minnesota's leaders aren't downplaying their goals.

"We don't hide our ambition," Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah told the Star Tribune on Thursday. "That's not something we do in this building. We are trying to be one of the last teams standing every team should embrace that. Every team should wake up and say this is where we want to be, otherwise why are we doing this? We're excited, we run towards that smoke, as you will."

Adofo-Mensah joined Star Tribune reporters Ben Goessling, Andrew Krammer and Emily Leiker on their "Access Vikings" podcast after last week's final OTA practice to discuss his extension and expectations for the upcoming season, among other things (lessons on the job, McCarthy's progress, flag football, etc.).

Here's an excerpt from their interview:

Q: What were your expectations for McCarthy before the injury last August?

A:It'd be hard for me to talk about that alone because when you have a QB Ph.D or a QB Nobel laureate in your building, you lean on [O'Connell] often. So, we had constant dialogue and conversation about what we wanted for J.J. that year and he started exceeding them pretty quickly. We were pretty clear, I think, publicly that we didn't want him to play. We just thought for the kind of better success of his career, it's better to sit and watch. He kind of pushed. He was pushing a little bit to maybe even becoming the backup or different things like that, but just the day-over-day growth he would show, he was so coachable. ... And you really saw the arm talent and different things like that, the ability to move in the pocket. If people remember, the Raiders played their first-team defense while he was in the [preseason] game. So, we did get a little glimpse of seeing him against regular season NFL-type players. We just loved it. Not only just the play but how he played. He threw the interception as people remember. You talk to the coaches, there was just a positivity and a joy that he played with that he was going to come back and he had that great recovery. Those are moments that matter. Not necessarily that he completed the passes, but he didn't go in the tank, he came over on the sideline, got his coaching point, took it and went out there and played with his teammates. That was an exciting time for us.

Furthering his beliefs, Adofo-Mensah recalled when McCarthy demonstrated unteachable maturity in the wake of his injury: "I remember him saying, 'Well, this will give Sam just the platform he needs.'"

Regarding his new contract, Adofo-Mensah expressed thankfulness and reasserted his foremost goal.

"I would say for everybody else around me my family, people like that where maybe they don't have the same steely demeanor about these things, I think maybe it was a relief. They wanted it for me. But I always approach it from a state of gratitude," Adofo-Mensah said. "The goal of this job for me was not to earn a contract extension. It was to bring the franchise their first championships. This obviously will allow us more time to do so, but [I'm] still wired and incredibly hungry to do that thing we set out to do."

You can read the complete articlehere, andwatchorlistento the full conversation.

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