Yahoo Sports What are expectations for Vikings' J.J. McCarthy heading into the preseason in 2025?

[Yahoo! Sports - News, Scores, Standings, Rumors]

What can we expect from J.J. McCarthy in his second season after he missed his entire rookie campaign? Of the six quarterbacks taken in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, McCarthy is the only one with nothing to build upon in 2025. He's a complete unknown, even if his head coach and supporting cast are upper-echelon.

Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report believes that because he didn't play in 2024, McCarthy's 2025 season should be treated as his rookie season. McCarthy is ranked last among the six quarterbacks in expected improvement because of his lost rookie year.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy can't improve upon his rookie season when he didn't even play thanks to an MCL tear he experienced during preseason. He has yet to establish a baseline.

For all intents and purposes, McCarthy is entering his rookie campaign.

The Vikings didn't skip a beat without last year's 10th overall pick in the lineup. Sam Darnold experienced a career revival during his one season in Minnesota, while the team finished with a 14-3 record. Darnold left in free agency to join the Seattle Seahawks this offseason. Meanwhile, the Vikings are handing McCarthy the keys to the offense.

That doesn't mean that Sobleski doesn't believe McCarthy can be a capable starter, though. He believes that his time spent with Kevin O'Connell will help. McCarthy just has to put it together with his physical abilities to become the complete quarterback Minnesota envisions.

Despite not playing as a rookie, head coach Kevin O'Connell did what he could to help in the quarterback's development.

"I just wanted to give him a platform with me," O'Connell told ESPN's Kevin Seifert. "Maybe it was football one day. Maybe it was no football. My time is very hard to find during the season, but I just wanted to make sure that we got together.

"The one thing I learned about him in those meetings is he had great questions, and that validated that he was receiving and getting something out of that time. And as I've told him, it doesn't really guarantee you anything, but once you're fighting the fight on a daily basis of growing within the system, he would be able to rely on some of what we did together."It's now time for McCarthy to translate all of the mental reps he took as a rookie and translate them to the field.

That, and a roster that should include an improved run game, have given fans hope that the Vikings can advance further in the playoffs than they did in 2024. And being viewed as a "rookie" shouldn't disqualify the Vikings from NFC Championship aspirations, as Jayden Daniels led the Washington Commanders that far last year.

This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: What are expectations for J.J. McCarthy heading into the preseason?

Continue reading...