The Minnesota Vikings are fully prepared to give J.J. McCarthy the keys to their franchise as soon as 2025. Despite the Michigan product coming off a torn meniscus, Kevin O’Connell is confident in him as the Vikings’ franchise quarterback.

With the Vikings expected to officially hand McCarthy the starting job, O’Connell gushed over his new quarterback’s potential in the league. When asked what he would tell a skeptic fan, O’Connell spewed a list of reasons why he believes McCarthy will be successful right away.

“[J.J. McCarthy] didn’t throw a lot of bubble screens, he didn’t throw a lot of RPOs [in college],” O’Connell said to Kevin Clark on ‘This is Football.’ “He was in a pro-style offense where they were running the football. They needed some high-quality execution on some of those weighty downs that’s really what we’d like to be with our offense.”

O’Connell continued with his reasons why Vikings fans should put their full faith in McCarthy. The credentialed head coach said the former No. 10 overall pick sitting out his official rookie year only improved his development and has him more prepared for his regular season debut.

“The other thing I’ll say is he’s had a year now of being around a guy like Sam Darnold through his journey,” O’Connell said. “He got to watch it [and] see what meetings were like; what’s it like when I install third-down plays… He’s not a rookie. He’s had that pseudo-redshirt year — albeit without the reps we would’ve wanted — but I’m really confident, really excited to see him hit the ground running.”

J.J. McCarthy prepared to start for Vikings in 2025
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The Vikings all but confirmed McCarthy would be their starting quarterback in 2025 when they chose not to re-sign Sam Darnold in free agency. By letting Darnold walk, Minnesota essentially confirmed its plans to have McCarthy take over, especially considering its roster contains no other quarterback.

While McCarthy remains mostly unproven, he impressed in the 2024 preseason before suffering the torn meniscus. His return from injury furthers the questions surrounding him, but O’Connell’s confident testimony gives no reason anyone should doubt him.

Once McCarthy officially takes the field, it will be his first game since leading Michigan to a win in the 2024 National Championship game. In his three years in Ann Arbor, McCarthy led the Wolverines to a 27-1 record as a starter, making him one of the most successful quarterbacks in college football history.

The Vikings made a considerable effort to give McCarthy the best possible situation to return to. With an already elite skill position group, Minnesota bolstered its offensive line in free agency. The team signed Ryan Kelly and Will Fries while extending Blake Brandel to compose what should be a top-10 offensive line in 2025.