One person might be clinging to that changing, but the Minnesota Vikings are clearly all-in on J.J. McCarthy as their starting quarterback in 2025 (and, ideally, for years afterward). This entire offseason has been geared toward his success, he just has to hold up his end.
Of course there are natural questions right now, since McCarthy lost his rookie season to a knee injury and his first career regular season snap will come in Week 1. But head coach Kevin O'Connell should be trusted as a quarterback guru until proven otherwise, and he clearly believes in McCarthy. Nothing, even a long-time friendship with a future Hall of Famer, has truly moved the Vikings' head coach off believing in his young quarterback.
The range of outcomes for McCarthy in 2025 is wide, and it's arguably wider than it is for any projected starting quarterback in the league--including rookies. Vikings' fans should be prepared for anything: good, bad, up, down and in-between,
Fantasy analyst invites dream outcome for Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy in 2025
Mike Fanelli of Fantasy Pros recently addressed the biggest fantasy football question for each NFL team heading into the 2025 season. It's no surprise the biggest question attached to the Vikings has to do with McCarthy, but the actual question had a shocking tilt.
"Could J.J. McCarthy have a Patrick Mahomes-like sophomore season?"
"Unfortunately, McCarthy missed his rookie year after tearing his meniscus during the preseason. However, he played well in his lone preseason game, completing 64.7% of his passes for 188 yards, two touchdowns, and 15.3 fantasy points on 17 attempts. Despite McCarthy missing his rookie year, the Vikings didn’t think twice of letting Sam Darnold leave in free agency and pass on signing Aaron Rodgers."
Woah. Any mention of Patrick Mahomes in comparison to another quarterback in any way will turn heads. Fanelli noted what the Vikings did this offseason to fortify the interior offensive line, and a set of "elite weapons", but some additional context is necessary.
Mahomes started the regular season finale of his rookie season in 2017, as a precursor to taking over as the Kansas City Chiefs' starting quarterback. Then had the first of his two MVP campaigns in 2018, leading the league with 50 touchdowns in his first year as starter.
The primary difference of course is that Mahomes had a regular season start under his belt before his first full season as a starter, while McCarthy emerged from his preseason debut with the knee injury that cost him his rookie season.
Fanelli ended by tabbing it a "long shot" McCarthy will have a "Mahomes-lite first year as a starter." But the proverbial toothpaste was already out of the tube by asking the question he did, and now Vikings fans are invited to dream really big about what McCarthy could do in his first season as a starter.
