Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell reveals when JJ McCarthy will be ‘ready’ to start

The Minnesota Vikings have had a lot of quarterback changes over the past season. Kirk Cousins ​​left to sign with the Atlanta Falcons. They are looking for their next star to take the organization forward. The one they hope to see do that is JJ McCarthy, who they selected with the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft after winning a national championship with the University of Michigan.

However, Vikings fans might be wondering when they’ll get to see McCarthy become the official starting quarterback, but it’s probably best to put that on the back burner for now. The last thing Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell wants to do is bench McCarthy when he’s not ready, as there appear to be regrets regarding his time as the offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders where they started first-round pick Dwayne Haskins in Week 4 in 2019 when he wasn’t ready.

“When we drafted him, we had a lot of confidence in what he could become under the right circumstances, with the right development and timeline,” O’Connell said, according to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. “And that wasn’t exactly the mindset we had a few months later.”

O’Connell wonders when Vikings will start McCarthy

O’Connell hopes to take advantage of McCarthy’s time to become the No. 1 quarterback he and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah know he can be. Last season for the Wolverines, McCarthy threw for 2,991 yards, 22 touchdowns and four interceptions, leading the program to a perfect 15-0 record.

Currently, the Vikings have four quarterbacks, including McCarthy, with the others likely starting in former first-round pick Sam Darnold, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall, the latter two of whom started games last season. However, there’s no doubt that the ultimate plan is for McCarthy to take over at some point, as O’Connell detailed what would have to happen for the Vikings to pull the trigger and make him the starting quarterback, according to ESPN.

“The comfort level he has within our offense and his ability to then translate that into adverse situations and difficult aspects of playing quarterback in the NFL is not amplified by inexperience,” O’Connell said.

“But I want to be very clear: This player is expected to be imperfect,” O’Connell continued. “He’s going to have growing pains, he’s going to learn as he goes along. I’m not trying to take that away either, but (deciding when he plays) is not something you can write on a chalkboard. It’s a gut feeling.”

McCarthy concerned about Vikings’ job security in connection with McCarthy

However, there is also the job security of guys like O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah to think about, because if the rebuild doesn’t go well, they could swoop in and get McCarthy on the field sooner than expected. On the other hand, the 39-year-old Vikings head coach since 2022 says “these circumstances can’t affect JJ’s development plan,” especially as he reveals he has “an obligation to represent the best interests” of the rookie since he is a former quarterback himself.

“It’s just a matter of what’s in the best interest of the organization,” O’Connell said. “These circumstances can’t affect the development plan of JJ or any other player on the team. It just can’t be something that selfishly influences that decision.”

“That’s not really going to change,” O’Connell continued. “Because, and I don’t know if it’s the former quarterback in me or not, but I feel obligated to have the best interests of not only JJ but our entire team at heart when we make that decision.”

Vikings hope McCarthy can get Minnesota back on track

The NFC North has only gotten better and since taking a step back last year, mostly due to Cousins’ health, they’ve been counting on McCarthy to become the face of the franchise. It seemed like Minnesota got the player they wanted, as they had a big pick in what was a quarterback-heavy draft, even though they probably should have moved up for a big-time player since he was the 10th pick.

“I believe in JJ McCarthy,” O’Connell said. “But having him in the building in the right way and the right circumstances, and having another first-round pick like Dallas Turner, helps it.”

“What people don’t understand about the quarterback selection process,” O’Connell continued, “is that it’s not just about the quarterback himself. It’s, ‘What does the rest of the picture look like with this quarterback?'”

Vikings GM confident in O’Connell’s plan for McCarthy

Regardless, it seems the organization has bought into O’Connell’s plan for McCarthy to truly become the quarterback everyone hopes he can be. One major figure who has that “faith” is the Vikings’ general manager, who believes they can turn McCarthy into the player who can lead the team to the top.

“Those things that (O’Connell) talked about are why I have so much confidence in him,” Adofo-Mensah said. “Taking a model and a game like (McCarthy) with talent and traits that are as high-end as anybody, and molding him into the player we want him to be.

“A lot of times when you look back on history, you say, ‘Those quarterbacks missed their shot.’ There’s a lot of dirty hands there, and we’re going to make sure our hands are clean and give him the best opportunity possible to be the best player possible in this offense.”

McCarthy bought into O’Connell’s offensive scheme

In addition to the head coach, general manager and others, one person also needs to be involved in the plan for it to work: McCarthy himself, who is now under pressure to take the franchise to the top. On the other hand, he feels comfortable where he is now, ever since O’Connell introduced his offense to McCarthy and others at Michigan’s pro day, according to ESPN.

“It’s the way (O’Connell) presents the installation,” McCarthy said, “the way he compartmentalizes everything about how to look at this piece individually and how to make it more relevant to your knowledge and how you can smoothly and efficiently enter this manual.

“It was something really unique,” ​​McCarthy continued. “Because you get to meet a lot of defensive coaches like (Washington) Dan Quinn and (New England) Jerod Mayo, and to be able to have that relationship as a former QB and a current QB, it’s really special and it means a lot.”

Regardless, it’s shaping up to be an interesting season for the Vikings, who are looking to improve on a 7-10 record last season that left them third in the NFC North. They’ll open the upcoming season on the road against the New York Giants on Sunday, September 8.