From First-Round Pick to Franchise Hope: JJ’s Next Chapter
August 10, 2025
The much anticipated second NFL debut of JJ McCarthy highlighted the Saturday slate of preseason week 1 games this weekend. He came out firing going 4/4 before throwing an incompletion that was just out of reach of his receiver. McCarthy was then able to flash some speed around the corner as the Vikings picked up the first down. There would be a few questionable throwing decisions made and the drive would end with a field goal.
JJ would just get the one drive seemingly just to get him accustomed to the speed of an NFL game slowly. With it only being week 1, there’s plenty of time to get him ramped up; most teams won’t let their starters go out there for more than a drive or two anyway.
Minnesota is coming off a 2024 season where they battled it out with Detroit for the NFC North for most of the season. Things, unfortunately, came to a screeching halt in January when they were dismantled by the Lions in week 17 and immediately bounced in round 1 of the post season by the Rams. McCarthy will now be tasked with picking up where Sam Darnold left off with the expectation of carrying them into another successful season.. With Darnold now a Seahawk, this will clearly be JJ’s opportunity to prove the front office correct when they made him their first round selection just a year ago.
Keith, Author
Keith runs youth flag football leagues by day, and by night he hosts the podcast and writes articles with the confidence of a man who’s been rushing quarterbacks since dial-up. A longtime flag football DE and lifelong Falcons fan, he’s no stranger to heartbreak and enjoys watching the bears get slaughtered each week. Equal parts coach, critic, and chaos, Keith calls it like he sees it… even if it hurts.
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