REPORT: Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy Has Troubling Update Surface On Accuracy After OTAs

Prior to the start of training camp next month, Sam Darnold has been declared the starting quarterback by Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell. A report regarding J.J. McCarthy, the rookie quarterback, and his performance at mandatory minicamp suggests that McCarthy still has a ways to go before he can surpass Darnold.

QB1 for the Minnesota Vikings is Sam Darnold.
The Vikings will hold a quarterback competition during training camp to determine Darnold’s backup, according to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert:

“We haven’t had to put out a depth chart or anything like that,” O’Connell said, “but yeah, I would say Sam would be the guy I would look to based upon the spring he’s had, and really where he’s at in his career and his quarterback journey, and what he’s been able to do coming in and [hitting] the ground running and taking advantage of a competitive situation.”

J.J. McCarthy has serious accuracy issues

As previously discussed on GH, McCarthy has had challenges with accuracy during OTAs. Alex Lewis with The Athletic reported McCarthy had improved during practice last Thursday:

McCarthy had a rough start to the week, but he held in there for Day 3. Per Lewis, McCarthy had his best day of minicamp on Thursday. However, McCarthy did show a mix of emotions as he threw passes that reporters would rather not tally up:

Thursday, though, McCarthy looked much better. He lasered one over the middle to tight end Robert Tonyan. He feathered a completion to receiver Trent Sherfield on the far right sideline. Tracking passes feels like a fruitless exercise right now — so many variables factor into these throws, and all a basic stat line does is falsely sway the narrative — but Thursday was easily the rookie’s most efficient day.

Per Seifert, McCarthy talked more about how he’s trying to learn the NFL than he is trying to surpass Darnold for the starting job. Seifert notes again that McCarthy is dealing with accuracy issues during practice:

Close observers have noticed some strong throws, including a dart last week to receiver Trent Sherfield on the final day of mandatory minicamp, as well as some that bounced in front of receivers or sailed over their heads.

McCarthy is learning to move past the bad throws

McCarthy is learning to move past the bad throws:

Asked whether that makes it easier to accept mistakes he has made, McCarthy said: “I definitely get down on myself, just being the perfectionist that I am. But you have to [accept it]. They’re inevitable. Failure is inevitable in sports. You’ve just got to learn from them and learn from those little dips and not be attached to them emotionally. That’s what I’ve been working on.”

By trading up to take McCarthy with the No. 10 pick, the Vikings have decided to invest in him as their full-time starter in the future. However, McCarthy doesn’t appear ready to assume that job to start the season—maybe not for the entire 2024 season. McCarthy’s accuracy issues are more concerning than his trouble learning how to handle the pre-snap offense.

McCarthy is looking like a project quarterback after the spring. With more reps and a season behind Darnold, the National Championship-winning quarterback could be better positioned to compete for a starting job next year.