Who is JJ McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings' quarterback of the future? Here's what to know.
MINNEAPOLIS — It's the beginning of a new era in Minnesota Vikings football.
After six seasons with an offense helmed by veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins, the team now has its presumed QB of the future: JJ McCarthy.
On Thursday evening, the Vikings selected McCarthy with the No. 10 overall selection in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft. It's the highest the Vikings have ever drafted a quarterback, with Daunte Culpepper the second highest at No. 11 in 1999.
The Vikings introduced McCarthy and their other first-round pick, Dallas Turner, early Friday afternoon. CBS News Minnesota will stream the introduction at 2:30 p.m. You can also watch in the live player above.
Here's what we know about McCarthy.
Where did McCarthy play in college?
McCarthy, 21, played for the Michigan Wolverines for three seasons, starting in 28 of 40 games. During the 2023 season, he started in all 15 games and won the national championship.
During that season he recorded 2,991 passing yards, 22 passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns.
Some of his accomplishments include setting Michigan program records, including lowest career interception percentage (1.54%), career completion percentage (67.6%) and single-season completion percentage (72.3%).
He was also named the Big Ten Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year for 2023.
McCarthy went 27-1 under center the past two seasons.
What did the NFL scouting profile say about McCarthy?
His NFL.com scouting profile notes a lot of intangibles — "He is confident and seems to have the ability to take slights and digest it as competitive fuel" — but does highlight concerns about his physical ability.
"McCarthy should continue to improve as a passer, but he fails to stand out in many of the areas that tend to be predictive of top-level success in the NFL," the profile reads.
According to the profile, some of McCarthy's strengths include playing with a chip on his shoulder, having plenty of experience in a pro-style passing scheme under center and his toughness. His weaknesses include sluggishness getting through progressions, average escapability as a runner when scrambling and a tendency to throw behind moving targets.
What do the Vikings think about McCarthy?
Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah addressed the selection following the first round Thursday evening.
"As excited as our fans are, they can know that JJ McCarthy really wanted to be a Minnesota Viking and he can't wait to get here and get to work," O'Connell said.
O'Connell said despite McCarthy's lack of sample size he's coming into a great situation in Minnesota where he can develop.
"This business is about taking a little risk and trying to get a reward and I think we got that in the end," Adofo-Mensah said.
What does McCarthy think about being a Viking?
In a post-draft interview with the Vikings, McCarthy said Minnesota was high on his destination list.
"It's because of coach O'Connell. Everything he preaches, everything that he works for, I want to be a part of," he said.
McCarthy said he watched the "Quarterback" series on Netflix and had a realization about O'Connell.
"I was sitting there with my fiance and I said, 'you know, I'd run through a brick wall for that guy,'" he said. "Everything about the way he approaches the game, his work ethic, how he studies the game. Everything about it, I want to be a part of."
McCarthy says the "JJ to JJ" connection with wide receiver Justin Jefferson sounds "fantastic" to him.
"I'm ready to go to work and all I can say is 'Skol,'" he said.
In another interview with ESPN, McCarthy says his philosophy going into training camp will be to get to know everybody's name in the facility and learning the playbook "so I know it better than the back of my hand."
