The Minnesota Vikings are about to find out what they truly have in J.J. McCarthy.
The former first-round pick missed all of last season with a knee injury, leaving Sam Darnold to step in. Darnold parlayed that opportunity into a lucrative deal with the Seattle Seahawks.
That leaves McCarthy with the keys to Kevin O’Connell’s offense this season in what’s essentially a rookie re-do year.
Considering he’s never made a regular-season start in the NFL, the Vikings are understandably cautious — as they would be with any new quarterback. But with their Super Bowl window closing fast, Minnesota needs to figure out its quarterback situation now.
The Vikings are built to win and have been for the past couple of seasons. Offensively, McCarthy has enough weapons around him to succeed, with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson leading the way.
But if McCarthy doesn’t progress, then what? Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski suggests the Vikings could look into drafting Arch Manning.
“If the Vikings falter with McCarthy behind center (or he suffers another injury) and the possibility of acquiring the latest Manning becomes realistic, the situation becomes real interesting,” Sobleski wrote.
Still, he noted that given Minnesota’s investment in McCarthy, such a move would be surprising.
“McCarthy not working out would be surprising. If that happens, though, other quarterbacks should be looking to the franchise, which is set up to succeed,” Sobleski added. “The Manning family will understand what’s possible in Minnesota.”
Minnesota would indeed be an intriguing landing spot for the Texas quarterback. Arch’s grandfather, Archie Manning, spent the final two years of his NFL career with the Vikings.
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