J.J. McCarthy’s Very Early “How Does He Look” Reports Are in

No storyline for the Twin Cities’ football team is nearly as important as the development of quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Entering his second year, he has yet to play in an NFL game beyond the preseason due to his torn meniscus, but he’s now back on the field, preparing for his emergence.

J.J. McCarthy’s Very Early “How Does He Look” Reports Are in

McCarthy is widely expected to be the Week 1 starter for the Minnesota Vikings, but he still needs to perform well throughout the offseason and training camp in the summer.

The OTAs have been the first chance for the young passer to throw the ball to his teammates in a competitive setting since his injury. After Wednesday’s practice, last year’s tenth overall pick talked to the media, and he was asked about his physical condition and whether he can tell any difference compared to a year ago: “I honestly feel physically bigger, faster, stronger, to be honest with you.”

It’s nice to hear that he hasn’t lost a step and is ready for his first season under center.

The Vikingsnoted on their website: “He had no convincing to do after a 90-minute session, the first OTA open to reporters this spring. McCarthy, in fact, looked more ready for the pro game, like he picked up without skipping a beat from his lone preseason action, an explosion that reasonably grew fans’ expectations.”

McCarthy will be under pressure early in his career because the roster is made for a playoff push with reinforced trenches on both sides of the ball and the same explosive playmakers and outstanding play-callers helping the talented squad reach its ceiling.

The franchise’s writer Rob Kleifield added about McCarthy’s early play in OTAs: “On Wednesday, McCarthy dropped throws into receiver’s breadbaskets down the field, needled them into tight windows, varied his RPMs to sneak them through coverages at short and intermediate levels, and demonstrated a good risk tolerance that is bound to build his confidence on anticipatory passes.”

His arm also earned him some praise a year ago, and it looks like he’s just resumed throwing darts into tight windows following his break. Of course, Minnesota’s own coverage should be taken with a grain of salt, so let’s check in with an outside opinion.

Alec Lewis from The Athletic wrote Thursday: “This is mostly a minuscule — albeit relevant — early observation. McCarthy’s throws spiraled the same way they did last year. He absorbed the play verbiage, stepped into the huddle, spit out the calls, walked to the line of scrimmage, hollered out the cadence and urgently progressed through reads. He did all of the things you have to do, with few hiccups, to be a successful quarterback in this league.

The last time we saw McCarthy on the field was when he bounced back from a shaky second-quarter performance against the Las Vegas Raiders and dominated in the third with a pair of pretty touchdown passes. The rumor mill suggested he might have been well-positioned to challenge Sam Darnold for the starting gig, but the knee injury ended all those speculations.

Kevin O’Connell said about his QB1 a couple of months ago: “Yeah, he’s not a rookie. He’s been able to have, you know, that pseudo redshirt year, albeit without the reps we have wanted, but I’m really confident, really excited to see him hit the ground running. He’s had a great offseason and can’t wait to get going with him.”

And it turns out, he is, indeed, hitting the ground running and doesn’t need much time to return to his previous form.

Skol Nation is ready for a home-grown passer for the first time since Teddy Bridgewater a decade ago. The last successful one (at least for a while) was Daunte Culpepper, but that’s already two decades in the past.

McCarthy is set up in a wonderful environment that includes Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison as his targets, a retooled offensive line, a strong defense, and a coaching staff led by Kevin O’Connell, the Coach of the Year.

The Vikings don’t really have an alternative plan for this season if he isn’t ready, as they declined to acquire any experienced veteran like Jameis Winston, Joe Flacco, Kirk Cousins, or Aaron Rodgers. It’s McCarthy or bust, which surely is bold, but the decision-makers clearly buy into their young signal-caller, and the early reports are once again excellent.

Let’s end this with McCarthy’s newest quote (he has many of those) that could be from a motivational speaker rather than an NFL QB: “Everyone wants to be perfect, especially at the quarterback position, but the more you try to be perfect, it’s going to kill you more than your imperfections will. And I feel like just being able to accept, in these learning and teaching phases, that it’s OK to fail and try things and go out there and take risks … as long as you do that, whatever’s down the road is going to come when it comes.”