The Minnesota Vikings are getting ready for a Wild Card matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, but everybody can’t stop talking about what the Vikings are going to do at quarterback in 2025.
With Sam Darnold playing at a franchise-caliber level this season, his performance has cast questions over J.J. McCarthy, who the Vikings selected as their quarterback of the future in last April’s draft. It’s led to many national analysts to state the obvious when discussing the decision and ESPN’s Mike Greenberg threw another log on the fire, stating teams should call the Vikings about McCarthy’s availability next offseason.
“I like the idea of trading J.J. McCarthy,” Greenberg said on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday morning. “I think Darnold has proved that in this offense, he is more than good enough. McCarthy, if he were in this draft would be the No. 1 pick. So if you’re a team that has a top 10 pick and needs a quarterback, why wouldn’t you trade that to Minnesota so Minnesota can keep Darnold?”
J.J. McCarthy would be the top quarterback prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The McCarthy rumors are an interesting topic but one that’s obvious. Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward are the top quarterbacks in this year’s class but they don’t have the same hype that McCarthy had after leading the Michigan Wolverines to a national championship last season.
With a lack of quality prospects behind them, McCarthy is going to look a lot better for quarterback-needy teams behind the Tennessee Titans, who have the No. 1 overall pick and the Cleveland Browns, who select No. 2. But he’s going to look even better considering that he spent a full year learning under Kevin O’Connell, who took Darnold from draft bust to MVP candidate in the course of one season.
Greenberg also argued that the Vikings could franchise tag Darnold and gain a top-ten pick in this year’s draft by making the move.
“They can franchise them if they don’t feel 100 percent certain about him forever, or they can try and make a deal with him. Maybe he takes a slightly team-friendly one, because he recognizes that this has revitalized his entire career and the Vikings can add a top 10 pick in the draft by trading McCarthy.”
Trading J.J. McCarthy could backfire for the Minnesota Vikings
But while many are quick to point out what it does for Darnold and the teams acquiring McCarthy, few point out what it does for the Vikings.
Darnold has played at a level that’s worthy of a lucrative contract extension but the Vikings may not feel comfortable giving him that money. There are times when he holds onto the ball too long – his average time of 3.08 seconds to throw is the fourth-longest this season according to Pro Football Focus – and there are games like Sunday where he was an inaccurate wreck, completing just 18-for-41 passes for 166 yards in a 31-9 loss to the Detroit Lions.
The Vikings also have holes throughout the roster at the interior offensive line, defensive line and cornerback. While some of that could be filled with a top-10 pick, the Vikings are entering the 2025 draft with just one selection in the first two days excluding a projected third-round compensatory pick after letting Kirk Cousins leave last spring.
Greenberg’s idea of just franchising Darnold if they’re not certain also sounds like a terrible idea. What if McCarthy’s year of learning while recovering from injury helps him and the Vikings trade a player who has No. 1 overall pick qualities for a quarterback many didn’t want on the team back in March?
It’s the same line of thinking that spawned trade rumors about Justin Jefferson last summer and O’Connell last week. In a league where the quarterback is king, the Vikings have two of them. Of course, teams are going to come calling. But until a decision is reached, takes like Greenberg’s are going to continue to surface.
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