The Minnesota Vikings are entering the 2025 NFL season with a new starting quarterback, their third unique starter in as many seasons.
Sam Darnold held it down last year after Kirk Cousins moved on to the Atlanta Falcons, but it’s J.J. McCarthy’s time to shine in 2025.
Head Coach Kevin O’Connell and the front office put a lot of faith in him when they used a first-round pick on him in 2024, hoping he’d pan out to be their quarterback of the future.
McCarthy wasn’t able to get any tangible, on-field experience last year due to his injury in the preseason, but he did have a chance to sit behind a veteran like Sam Darnold and pick up some valuable advice along the way.
Some fans have tempered expectations for 2025 with that in mind, but analyst and former QB Dan Orlovsky believes that expectations should be high for McCarthy, which he noted via Darren Wolfson on KSTP.
“It’s totally okay for us to have unrealistically high expectations of how he is going to play on this team. I really believe he should have production-wise, number-wise, very much rival what Sam did last year,” Orlovsky said.
“I really believe he should have … production-wise, number-wise…should very much rival what Sam did last year…”@danorlovsky7 with @DWolfsonKSTP on Vikings QB JJ McCarthy
— The Purple Persuasion (@TPPSkol) September 1, 2025
In Orlovsky’s mind, McCarthy already has the experience of winning a National Championship at the collegiate level, and his rookie season of being sidelined shouldn’t be understated.
O’Connell and this coaching staff have been heralded for their work with Sam Darnold last year, and if McCarthy’s talent is anything like it was in college, the Vikings’ offense could be in a similar position to what they were last season.
It will be interesting to see how this team fares over the next few months, and McCarthy will get a great test to prove himself in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears’ staunch defense.
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