With the not-unexpected trade of quarterback J. J. McCarthy to the New York Giants, the Vikings have brought to an end one of the most disappointing eras in the team’s recent history. In the latest instalment of SKOLding Hot Takes, Jonathan Pye breaks down what led to a former first-rounder being swapped for a fifth-round pick.
J. J. McCarthy was the highest-picked quarterback in Vikings franchise history and big things were expected of him. In a Kevin O’Connell offense with a solid offensive line on paper and the best wide receiver room in the league, success was surely a given.
Ultimately, it’s been a complete disaster and the reason for that can be put down to three main factors: McCarthy’s lack of ability on the field, his inability to stay healthy and the playcalling from coach O’Connell.
Lack of ability
McCarthy has clear flaws in his game, the most significant of which is his inability to layer throws or put any touch on the ball. Every pass was a missile at 100 miles an hour, which makes it incredibly hard for the receivers to catch the ball.
In 2025, the Vikings had a drop rate of nearly 15%. It was a huge down year in production for the best group of receivers in the league. Justin Jefferson only reached the 1,000-yard landmark in week 18, and this year he has the same number of touchdowns through three weeks as he did the whole of last season.
In 2025, McCarthy ranked 36th out of 43 in expected points added (EPA) per play at -0.11 per dropback. He struggled to process what he was seeing on the field and took too many hits. The concussion he suffered at Lambeau Field last season was a result of him not reading the defense quickly enough and taking a huge shot to the head that was completely unnecessary.
Health struggles
In sport, your best ability is your availability. Unfortunately McCarthy only started 10 games through his first two seasons in the league. In the first preseason game of his rookie season against the Raiders, he tore his meniscus and had season-ending surgery.
In his second career game against the Atlanta Falcons in week 2 of 2025, he suffered a high ankle sprain and missed five games. In week 12 at Lambeau Field, McCarthy suffered the aforementioned concussion that ruled him out of one game. In week 16 against the Giants, he missed a game with a right hand injury and had to leave the home game against the Packers in week 18 with the same injury.
McCarthy’s injury history over just two years doesn’t make for pretty reading, especially for a player that needed to be on the field as much as possible to iron out the clear flaws in his game. It’s impossible to improve the touch on your throws, or layer the ball and perfect that aspect of your game if you’re lacking consistent reps.
Coach O’Connell’s playcalling
Not all of McCarthy’s struggles were his own fault. When he was on the field, the playcalling from coach Kevin O’Connell did the second-year quarterback no favours. There are few easy checkdowns in the offense that the coach wants to run, nor do we run any slants or trick plays such as the ones that other “offensive gurus” around the league like Ben Johnson and Sean McVay have in their playbooks.
McCarthy at his best was a dual-threat quarterback. Coming into the league, everyone knew he had operated as the driver in the well-oiled machine at Michigan with John Harbaugh. It took the Vikings dropping to 4–8 for any dumbing-down of the offense to take place, at which McCarthy began to play better – those games were against two of the league’s worst defenses, but the numbers were much better than they were at the start of the season.
The damning part of it all is in 2024 O’Connell said, “organisations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organisations”. In this instance, however, it can be argued that when McCarthy was on the field, the Vikings failed him.
Worst first-round pick in franchise history?
McCarthy ranks up there with the worst picks the Vikings have ever made in the first round of the draft, a team in “win now” mode putting all of their eggs in one unproven basket. But he’s hardly the only draft bust the Vikings have ever had. Here are just a few from the last 30 years:
- Defensive end Dimitrius Underwood, selected in the first round of the 1999 draft is the most catastrophic first-round selection in franchise history. He showed up for one practice, went absent without leave and never played a snap for the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings drafted him despite warnings from his college coach Nick Saban about his attitude.
- Wide reciever Troy Williamson, selected seventh overall in the 2005 draft, was the chosen replacement for Randy Moss, who the Vikings had just traded away to the Raiders. Williamson only had three touchdown receptions in three years and was ultimately traded to the Jaguars for a sixth-round pick. He had big problems with drops, leading the league with 11 in 2006; in the last game of the 2007 season, he dropped what would have been a 72-yard touchdown from Tarvaris Jackson.
- Christian Ponder was the highest-selected quarterback in franchise history before McCarthy, selected 12th in the 2011 draft. He lacked a pocket presence and often left the pocket too early and rushed, which allowed teams to work him out. He was sacked 95 times in 38 games and threw 36 interceptions to only 38 touchdowns. Had the Vikings had more solid quarterback play, they would have been able to capitalise on the MVP year that Adrian Peterson had in 2012, when he nearly broke Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record.
- Wide receiver Laquon Treadwell, selected 23rd in the 2016 NFL draft, was a big bust as he struggled to create separation and couldn’t get open down the field against a higher standard of cornerbacks in the professional game. He only ran a 4.65-second 40-yard dash at the Combine. In his rookie season, he caught one pass for 15 yards. Undrafted wideout Adam Thielen and 2015 fifth-round selection Stefon Diggs were always ahead of Treadwell in the depth chart and he was cut after the 2019 season.
- Safety Lewis Cine was selected with the 32nd pick in the 2022 draft. In his rookie season, he suffered a lower leg injury on a special teams play against the New Orleans Saints in London that required two surgeries. He’d been struggling before the injury and wasn’t seeing many reps on the defense. After his recovery, players like Theo Jackson and Josh Metellus fit the system better and he was waived in 2024. Compounding the issues with this selection, the Vikings passed on drafting future All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton. Defensive coordinator Ed Donatell preferred Cine for his “bend, don’t break” shell system and former general manager Kwesi Adofo Mensah was happy to get additional draft capital to drop 20 places.
Where do you think J. J. McCarthy belongs on the list of the Vikings’ worst ever draft picks? Let us know via email at UKVikingsFanClub@gmail.com or drop us a DM on any of our social media channels.