The New York Giants have chosen J.J. McCarthy over Jameis Winston, so they should follow the advice of a two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, one of McCarthy’s former teammates, who knows how the young signal-caller can go from draft bust to dynamic, starting NFL quarterback.
Former Minnesota Vikings’ wideout Adam Thielen played alongside McCarthy during the 2025 season. Thielen has told the Giants they can expect McCarthy to unleash one “incredible” talent, but they must fix two clear deficiencies in the 2024 NFL draft 10th-overall pick’s game.
Speaking to SiriusXM NFL Radio, Thielen said, “the best thing (McCarthy) does is the deep ball. He throws the best deep ball that I’ve seen in a long time. I mean, it is incredible.”
McCarthy’s ability to push the ball vertically will appeal to Giants’ targets like premium receiver Malik Nabers. Yet, Nabers and the rest of the receiving corps should still expect some growing pains getting used to McCarthy, because of the throws he can’t make.
As Thielen explained, “The big question when he was in Minnesota, was can he throw the touch balls and the layered balls like you see Brock Purdy throw?” Thielen believes “If J.J. can develop some of that, watch out! ‘Cause he’s got every other tool in his back pocket and he’s a gamer.”
Upside on the level Thielen describes means it’s worth the Giants treating McCarthy as more than just a stop-gap starter. Head coach John Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy must commit to fixing core technical issues with the 23-year-old’s delivery and accuracy.
There’s plenty of time to do that while Jaxson Dart sits out the rest of the season recovering from knee surgery. The Giants are putting this season on McCarthy’s throwing shoulder, so they need him to improve.
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It could be a slow wait for McCarthy to refine his touch passing, but the Giants can count on him being a good teammate in the meantime. Thielen’s already explained how popular McCarthy was among the Vikings’ players.
McCarthy quickly endearing himself to key members of the Giants’ roster can only help on and off the field. The positivity he brought to the field was obvious during his prolific cameo against the New Orleans Saints in week 6.
He torched the Saints for 243 yards in less than a quarter. Those yards “were most in a game for a Giants player who didn’t start game since YA Tittle had 315 vs Washington on 10/1/1961 in game started by Charlie Conerly,” per Josh Dubow of AP Sports.
The historical context only underlines how impressive McCarthy was, but there was something more important about his display. Something that can help the Giants fix those flaws Thielen mentioned.
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What McCarthy did well was put the ball into the hands of Nabers and dynamic tight end Isaiah Likely. They quickly formed a rapport with the new QB, despite McCarthy revealing never having thrown their way before.
That’s according to Jori Epstein of Yahoo! Sports, who “asked J.J. McCarthy how many reps he’d had throwing to Giants targets Malik Nabers and Isaiah Likely before coming in second half today. Answer: None. Throwing to them on sideline was as close as he’d come.”
Answer: None. Throwing to them on sideline was as close as he’d come
The instant chemistry between McCarthy and the Giants’ best receivers yielded big plays and scores. Likely caught a touchdown from McCarthy, while the former Michigan passer connected with Nabers numerous times between the 20s.
His ability to step into the lineup and keep both of the Giants’ most exciting playmakers heavily involved, the way Winston had, went a long way toward McCarthy keeping the job.
As NFL Network’s Judy Battista put it, “JJ McCarthy made an impression on the Giants in a critical area: he was able to move the offense without having had any practice reps with the starters, including the guys he was throwing to. That did not go unnoticed.”
McCarthy was building on that positive first impression when he “stayed after practice on Wednesday to get in extra work with his starting receivers, including Malik Nabers. Necessary because, as McCarthy said the other day, he had barely even thrown to Nabers prior to the Saints game,” per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.
Going through Nabers and Likely is the best way for these Giants to move the ball, but McCarthy gives them another option. One an All-Pro favorite of head coach John Harbaugh believes will “definitely” help McCarthy revive a key part of Big Blue’s offense.
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