A lot can change in a year.

After J.J. McCarthy skyrocketed up draft boards last April, the NFL world has changed its tune on the Minnesota Vikings quarterback.

The Vikings’ decision to roll with McCarthy has been subjected to some concerns after the team decided to let Sam Darnold walk to the Seattle Seahawks.

But he has to play at some point, right?

No matter. McCarthy, being unproven at 22 years old, has become national media fodder, and of course, a Green Bay Packers quarterback was ready to pile on.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9)

Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
A Packers backup quarterback in 2021, Kurt Benkert chimed in with his rankings of all first-round quarterbacks of the past two drafts if they were all coming out of the 2024 draft class.

And despite showing McCarthy some respect a year ago, Benkert ranked McCarthy at the bottom of his pecking order.

Several fans pulled out the receipts from last year, when Benkert ranked McCarthy the fourth-best quarterback of the 2024 draft class — ahead of Bo Nix and Drake Maye.

The rankings’ criteria were based on how Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward would rank among the 2024 draft class — meaning Benkert’s views of the 2024 draft class coming out of college should have changed.

“If this was your ranking of last year’s QBS prior to the draft, and you can only rank based on the prospect coming out and not rookie seasons, what changed your order?” one fan asked. “More specifically, why drop McCarthy?”

Several fans also brought up a commonly held argument that McCarthy would be QB1 in this year’s draft, which was championed by ESPN’s Adam Schefter during the 2024 season.

“J.J. McCarthy would’ve been a top if not the top QB in this draft,” Schefter said, adding that teams will be inquiring about a trade for the Michigan quarterback.

Schefter’s take proved true, as the Vikings rejected multiple trade calls for McCarthy throughout the offseason, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Now, McCarthy is taking some flak, accustomed to whoever is the Vikings quarterback.

The team was doubted last year for moving on from Kirk Cousins and replacing him with Darnold.

And now, McCarthy is subject to the same skepticism.

We’ll see how he looks a year from now — and hopefully, Benkert will revise his rankings again.