When the Minnesota Vikings selected University of Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, fans and experts seemed pretty evenly split when predicting how he would fare in the NFL.
McCarthy has his fair share of skeptics, but has also received endorsements and positive words from several experts and analysts around the league. However, the only way to know how he will be behind center for the Vikings is by getting him in the lineup.
Injuries have prevented Minnesota from getting a good look at the young passer thus far. Although he had a great fourth quarter against the Chicago Bears in the season opener this year, he has been unimpressive otherwise.
It has yet to be seen when J.J. McCarthy will return to the starting lineup, but there are those who are willing to be patient and give him time to recover from his injury and develop as the team around him gets healthy.
Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer has faith that J.J. McCarthy will be a great NFL quarterback.
On Monday, former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer posted on X about the quarterback situation for the team. Although former teammates Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones are doing well for their new teams, he insists McCarthy will turn out to be a solid investment.
It’s nice to see Darnold and Jones playing well. Vikings did the right thing, JJ is going to be a great NFL QB, need to get our line healthy and JJ some reps. He has a lot to learn, it’s going to take some time, but it will be worth it.
— Tommy Kramer (@Kramer9Tommy) October 21, 2025
Patience is something the NFL has very little of these days. Minnesota has a window where they can invest in other areas of the team while having a starting quarterback on a rookie contract, and also have superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson and other talented players hoping to make a deep playoff push.
Fans shouldn't be ready to throw in the towel on McCarthy, but it is understandable to be frustrated. As an early first-round draft pick who had a year to sit and learn while recovering from knee surgery, most people expected to see a quarterback who was better prepared to take snaps in the NFL.
Plenty of amazing players have had rough starts to their careers in the NFL, and J.J. McCarthy might be one of them. With some reps and time, along with a healthy offensive line to help him, Tommy Kramer believes that the Vikings did the right thing by moving on from Darnold and Jones to focus on the development and growth of McCarthy.
Only time will tell if the former Minnesota Vikings quarterback is right.