The Denver Broncos were one of six teams that took a QB in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and they may have gotten one of the best ones.
Denver taking Bo Nix was the sixth and final QB move in that first round. A couple of picks before taking Nix, the Minnesota Vikings had traded up to take JJ McCarthy, which allowed Nix to tall into the Broncos laps.
And as it would be, Denver wanted Nix all along, but seemed to keep quiet enough to land the underrated QB. Well, it really did not take long for the former Oregon Duck to prove that he belonged in the NFL, and his rookie season speaks for itself.
Well, a recent QB report regarding McCarthy and the Vikings is just not an ideal situation and does again prove that the Broncos made the right decision.
Are the Vikings still not sold on JJ McCarthy?
Here is former NFL player and media figure Ross Tucker on McCarthy and the Vikings recently:
When you think about what Tucker says here, it all lines up, and it does not feel like Minnesota would have been rushing to start McCarthy in the 2025 NFL Season given their interest in retaining Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones. The Michigan product is coming off of a knee injury, so he did miss his entire rookie season but is still 22 years old, so the age isn't a factor at all.
However, McCarthy missed a ton of 'time on task' in year one, and if the price was right, you have to think that the team would have been very willing to bring Sam Darnold back into the mix to start for them a second year. It is quite likely that JJ McCarthy plays like a rookie during his first year in the NFL, and only time will tell just how good he can be, but the McCarthy era is off to a rocky start for sure.