J.J. McCarthy

Minnesota Vikings·#9

Pos QBHt 6'3"Wt 219 lbExp 2 yrCollege Michigan

Updated September 22, 2026

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Model Score

77.5 MODEL

Resting on limited playing time

How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →

J.J. McCarthy Injury StatusNot listed

J.J. McCarthy is not on the injury report as of Sep 20. Source: the official NFL injury report, refreshed daily.

J.J. McCarthy Stats This Season

Pass Yds

Pass TD

INT

Rush Yds

Rush TD

0.0

Fantasy PPG

Advanced Metrics EPA & Next Gen Stats

0.0

Total EPA

0.000

EPA / dropback

0.00s

Time to throw

0.0

Avg air yards

0.0%

Aggressiveness

0 yd

Longest comp (air)

Draft & College

Round 1, pick 10 · Minnesota Vikings · 2024

Michigan (Big Ten)

Taken

#10

where he actually went

Consensus board

18th

average of the public big boards that spring

Our college model

#133

among QB in our college data

He went earlier than consensus.

In college · 2021-2023 · 40 games

5,959 pass yds, 42 TD, 4 INT, 64.7% completions

Covers the college seasons in our data, which does not always reach back to a player's first year.

Comps

College career

his college career vs theirs

Demond Williams Jr.72%Tim Tebow70%Baylor Romney69%

STM Take

McCarthy's effective rookie season closed at STTM #45 tier 8 across 10 games, the same kind of late-arriving starter profile Penix carries one division over. The recent game log includes legitimate 20-plus PPR weeks alongside near-zero floor games, so the variance band is wide. The college pedigree (national title, 27-1 record) is the long-bet case; the early NFL stats need a full season to mean anything.

McCarthy was born in Evanston, Illinois, attended Nazareth Academy and then IMG Academy for his senior year, and committed to Michigan over rival Ohio State. He won the 2023 College Football Playoff national title, was named 2023 Big Ten Quarterback of the Year, and finished 27-1 as a starter, the highest career winning percentage in FBS history. Minnesota took him tenth overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. He missed his entire rookie season to injury and took over as the starter in his second year.

Strengths

27-1 as a college starter, the highest career winning percentage in FBS history, with a 2023 national title.
Recent game logs show two 20-plus PPR weeks across his 10-game sample, including a 23.5 against good defenses.

Concerns

57.6 percent completion percentage and 72.6 passer rating on 243 NFL attempts are bottom-tier for any first-round QB's debut sample.
11 TDs against 12 INTs as a year-two starter is a worse ratio than every rookie on the current board.

What to watch: Whether a full healthy 17-game year-three produces a tier-5-or-better finish; the Vikings' system around him is built for it.