Getty J.J. McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Minnesota Vikings are comfortable offering rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy a redshirt season. But if he continues to build on the praise he’s received this offseason, the Vikings could move on from Nick Mullens and make McCarthy first in line for action behind Sam Darnold.
KSTP’s Darren Wolfson took the temperature of the Vikings quarterback situation after Adam Thielen and T.J. Hockenson publicly praised McCarthy.
Wolfson said that if McCarthy can continue to develop and surpass Mullens during training camp, the Vikings would be wise to trade Mullens.
“If I had to bet right this second, I think Mullens is the QB2 Week 1 against the Giants,” Wolfson said on a July 18 episode of SKOR North’s “Mackey and Judd” podcast. “But if J.J. shows enough the next few weeks, sure. You then attempt to recoup, because you’re down some draft picks in 2025. Could you get a conditional [sixth-round pick], maybe a seventh?”
The Vikings only have their first-rounder and a pair of fifth-round picks confirmed for the 2025 draft after Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made several moves in the first round to land McCarthy and edge rusher Dallas Turner. The Vikings could also receive a third-round compensatory pick next March, but any additional draft capital would be welcomed.
The Viking acquired Mullens in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders, sending a conditional seventh-round pick to the Raiders in August 2022.
Mullens lost all three of his starts last season but was highly effective running the offense, averaging 370 yards per game in his starts. He also led the only scoring drive in a 3-0 win over Las Vegas in relief of Josh Dobbs.
“If J.J. McCarthy demonstrates enough the next handful of weeks, to me, you need to strike on a trade,” Wolfson added. “If that opportunity presents itself, you need to move Nick Mullens.”
Adam Thielen Praises Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy After Workout
GettyJ.J. McCarthy #9 of the Minnesota Vikings.
After the final day of spring minicamps, McCarthy admitted that he would not go on vacation and instead stay in Minnesota and continue to develop his game.
That’s led to several throwing sessions with Thielen, who’s back home for the summer before he returns to the Carolina Panthers at the end of July.
Thielen appeared on KFAN’s #92Noon show with Paul Allen and showered McCarthy with praise.
From KFAN:
He’s got all the tools, that’s for sure. He can sling it. He’s super accurate. We’re wearing shorts and t-shirts out there, but you can [still] see a lot, just from accuracy, timing, and those kinda things when you’re running routes on air.
He’s a great kid. You don’t really realize that he’s 21-years-old when you’re talking to him [and] when you’re hanging around him. He’s got a maturity about him that you can tell goes beyond his age.
And that’s step No. 1 as a quarterback, right? To have that maturity level, have that kind of poise or kind of that aura around you that just feels confident. And [he’s] just a good person. So, I’ve really enjoyed being around him for the little time that I’ve been able to be around him.
T.J. Hockenson Touts Potential Camp Battle Between McCarthy, Darnold
GettyQuarterbacks Nick Mullens #12, J.J. McCarthy #9 and Sam Darnold #14 of the Minnesota Vikings.
While Darnold seems to be locked into the starting job in Minnesota after a strong performance in the spring, Hockenson wasn’t sold that McCarthy won’t give Darnold some push for the starting job.
“He’s been incredible,” Hockenson said of McCarthy on a July 15 episode of the “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast. “He’s grinding in the film room, he’s grinding in the classroom. He’s a baller on the field, obviously. But to have a guy, especially a rookie, come into a facility and to the league, you usually need to shut your mouth and go to work and that’s exactly what he did. He’s earned the respect of a lot of guys in there.
“Obviously we have Sam Darnold, who’s a baller and plays the game at a really high level, so it’ll be interesting what happens with those two. I’m excited that J.J.’s on our team. Like I said, he’s a leader. He did that in Michigan and I’m sure that will carry over to the league just as well.”