PFF gives some interesting player comps to predict J.J. McCarthy's 2025 season
J.J. McCarthy has had to delay his debut for the Vikings by a year due to a torn meniscus suffered in his first preseason game for the team last August. Fast forward 10 months later, everyone within the team, media, and fanbase are excited to see what he is going to look like for the Vikings.
Everyone has weighed in on what a good season could look like and what a bad one could look like. The folks at Pro Football Focus decided to take it a step further and paint a picture with some player comps for how the season may go. PFF's John Kosko wanted to give ceilings and floors for second-year quarterbacks while projecting how their season may go.
When it came time to discuss J.J. McCarthy and his second year with the team, Kosko gave quite a wide range of results for the former Michigan Wolverine signal caller. The ideal result would include him having a season similar to that of Joe Burrow, while a worst-case type of season would be similar to what we saw from Sam Darnold.
"McCarthy wasn't asked to carry the national-championship Michigan team, but when he needed to, he delivered. While he wasn't elite at generating big-time throws, nor was his turnover-worthy rate spectacularly low, McCarthy excelled under pressure and when facing the blitz. His success rate in both situations ranked third in the class, behind Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix. Darnold's career looked over until his incredible 2024 season with the Vikings. Assuming McCarthy is better than Darnold for his career isn't a stretch, but nothing is ever a guarantee at quarterback."
Burrow is an MVP candidate every single year he plays a full 17-game schedule for the Bengals, so that comp is music to Vikings fans' ears. Now, the Sam Darnold comparison may spark some nightmares for fans after last season's dramatic and sharp fall from a high.
Whatever the results may be for McCarthy, the support from the defense, offensive line, and skill players should be enough around him to give him every chance to succeed this season and beyond.
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