Adam Thielen Updates His J.J. McCarthy Verdict

The Minnesota Vikings are in an exciting time in their franchise history, as they strive to move past hiring other quarterbacks and develop their own. The decision-makers have put a lot of trust in sophomore J.J. McCarthy, and the franchise will go as far as he takes it in the near future.

Adam Thielen Updates His Verdict on Minnesota’s New QB

Last year’s tenth overall pick has gotten various endorsements since the draft, whether that be old or new teammates and coaches, or other folks around the league. One of those is Vikings legend Adam Thielen, Carolina’s aging wideout.

Thielen worked out with McCarthy this offseason, something they did a year ago, too. The Minnesota native praised him each time.

A few days back, he said about McCarthy, “He’s got all the things it takes to be a successful player in this league, and kind of the things that we talked about about how I’ve gotten to year thirteen, he’s already got it.”

Thielen has worked with numerous quarterbacks throughout his career, including veterans like Kirk Cousins, Sam Bradford, and Andy Dalton, but also young passers like former first overall pick Bryce Young or Teddy Bridgewater.

“He’s got consistency, he’s got that mindset,” Thielen added. “He’s got all the skills to be able to play at a high level. So I’m really excited now, my second summer working with him, to see him get an opportunity, and to see what he does with the opportunity, because I see it.”

After weeks and months of speculating about the future of Minnesota’s QB position, the Vikings allowed Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones to depart and rejected the idea of adding Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, or any other experienced signal-caller to challenge McCarthy. It’s his job, there’s no doubt about it.

Last offseason, Thielen said about McCarthy: “He has all the tools. He can sling it; he’s super accurate. We’re in shorts and t-shirts out there, but you can see a lot just from accuracy, timing, when you’re running around out there.”

McCarthy is a talented player. He has the arm strength and the mobility to thrive in the NFL, and his mindset is another major asset if you believe about a dozen comments from the Vikings orbit.

“He’s a great kid. You don’t realize that he’s only 21 years old when you’re talking to him, when you’re hanging around. He’s got a maturity about him that you can tell that goes beyond his age. And, you know, that’s step number one as a QB, to have that maturity level, to have that kind of poise or kind of that aura around you that just feels like confidence and just a good good person.”

Thielen was cut after the 2022 season to save cap space. His expensive contract didn’t really match his play anymore, but two years removed from the “goodbye,” Thielen is still a decent player with over 1,600 yards and nine scores in 27 games for the Panthers.

After showing some progress in the second half of last season, Thielen’s Panthers could be a surprisingly competitive team this year if that progress continues. It usually helps to play in the NFC South.

McCarthy is still only 22 years old and has more than enough time to develop into the best version of himself, although the missed debut season was undoubtedly not ideal. He’ll be the main attraction when the players compete at training camp starting next week.