JJ McCarthy was the starting quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines and led them to a National championship. He has maybe the highest expectations for a quarterback from Michigan ever.
JJ McCarthy’s rookie year in 2024 was stopped before it started, with a torn right meniscus in the first preseason game. Coming out of Michigan, he was one of the top talents of the 2024 draft after he carried his team to a National Championship and was given high expectations. With this season being his first true year to show his talent, will he live up to the hype? Or will he go on the list of the young quarterbacks that didn’t meet their harsh expectations that we see every year?
JJ McCarthy’s first game of the year was a win, 27-24, over the Bears, but it wasn’t all smooth. JJ McCarthy started in his first NFL half not so well, going into the break down 10-6, where all of the Vikings’ points came from field goals. The Vikings came out where JJ McCarthy seemed to have turned around himself and his team. The game ended with a score of 27-24 for the Vikings.
This game gave the Viking fans and McCarthy fans a ton of hope for more to come as he showed great leadership and play in the 2nd half and especially the 4th quarter.
The next game he played was a total disaster. McCarthy had a 52.4% completion rate, and the Vikings lost to the mediocre Falcons 6-22. This game basically destroyed all hope in him as he didn’t come close to the expectations placed on him.
After McCarthy sustained a high ankle sprain, the Vikings put in Carson Wentz, a mediocre quarterback, in their next 2 games, and they saw much more success, which drained even more hope for this young quarterback away from fans.
This not great start has put up for question for a lot of McCarthy and Michigan fans: Was it really him who helped carry his team to the championship, or was it him getting carried along by a great team with John Harbaugh and that great 2023 Michigan team?
But could this just be a fluke? Could it just be like the dozens of quarterbacks that preceded him, who just needed a couple of years to develop, like Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes? I think this is different; we have seen great quarterbacks come from a rough start, but think of the hundreds who haven’t, it’s just survivor bias. If you think that JJ McCarthy is going to grow and become great, the odds are way out of your favor, which goes for every quarterback ever drafted.
Overall, the answer to this question is probably yes. McCarthy needs a lot of development and needs to start feeling more comfortable with his team. If the Vikings don’t take their time with him, he will end up degrading and eventually end up forgotten, like Zach Wilson or Mitch Trubisky.
