The Minnesota Vikings posted an impressive 14-3 record in the regular season last year, thanks in part to a career year from veteran journeyman quarterback Sam Darnold, who thrived under the direction of head coach Kevin O'Connell.
A year later, the Vikings have moved on from Darnold, letting him walk in free agency. In his place is J.J. McCarthy, whom the Vikings traded up one spot to land with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
McCarthy was the youngest of the six quarterbacks selected among the top 12 picks in last year's draft, and despite leading Michigan to a national title the year prior, the Wolverines' offense didn't require him to be a volume thrower who powered the offense with his passing ability, relying more on a strong running game and dominant defense most of the time.
He was expected to compete with Darnold for the starting job as a rookie, but a knee injury ended up costing him the entire 2024 season. Now, the Vikings are handing him the keys to a franchise that still has playoff expectations in 2025.
On the latest episode of "Best Podcast Available," I sat down with Carmen Vitali of Fox Sports to talk about the risk the Vikings are taking by placing those high hopes on a young quarterback coming off a season-long injury, who hasn't played a regular-season snap in the league yet.
"All of their moves this offseason have told me that they're essentially trying to quarterback-proof their team as much as possible," Vitali said. "Not to the degree that they don't want J.J. McCarthy to be the long-term answer; they still believe that he is. But at Michigan, the offense didn't rely on him. They're trying, in Minnesota, to do the same thing, at least for his first year, to allow him to develop and ease into the league."
Minnesota made multiple additions to shore up their weaker points around McCarthy on offense, both in terms of veteran additions in free agency, as well as premium resources in this year's draft.
"The biggest weakness the offense had last year was the interior of that offensive line," Vitali said. "And what did they go out and do? They got Ryan Kelly, they got Will Fries, and they drafted Donovan Jackson in the first round. With that tackle combination, provided Christian Darrisaw is healthy, that's one of the best tackle tandems in the league."
Building around McCarthy also came with keeping other key players in the building, and making more veteran additions on the other side of the ball.
"You're adding this insulation around J.J. McCarthy," Vitali said. "You re-signed Aaron Jones to make sure the running game is still productive. You have all this talent ready for him, and then what do you do? You go and make a scary defense even scarier by adding Jon Allen and Javon Hargrave. The way that defense under Brian Flores can just take over games, and win you games . . . if there's such a thing as quarterback-proofing a team . . . and I know it's the most important position on the field, and if things don't go well for McCarthy, they're still going to feel it . . . but I think they're insulating themselves against the learning curve that he's inevitably going to have."
If there's an ace up the Vikings' sleeve when it comes to McCarthy finding success despite the challenges he's certain to face, it's they guy who will be on the headset and in his ear throughout the week, and before every snap.
"I don't think there's a better quarterback developer than Kevin O'Connell," Vitali said. "McCarthy will have the best possible teacher in him, and I have a lot of faith in that, and I have a lot of faith in how the Vikings have built up that team around him, so that it's easy for him to assimilate to the league and to the pro game."
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