2025 Pass/Rush Stats
YDS
692
TD
5
INT
6
YDS
110
TD
2
Rest-of-Season Projections
2025 Fantasy Outlook
McCarthy was supposed to compete with Sam Darnold last season, but a meniscus tear in his right knee during training camp ended his rookie season. McCarthy was healthy for OTAs and is expected to start Week 1 this season. The Vikings must be confident of that, because they let Darnold leave and settled for Sam Howell and Brett Rypien as backups. There's still the question of whether McCarthy is ready for the NFL after spending his apprentice year rehabbing instead of practicing. The 10th pick in the 2024 draft, McCarthy has a strong arm and good mobility, but his mechanics drew criticism from scouts pre-draft, and he averaged only 22.4 pass attempts per game in his two seasons as a starter for loaded Michigan teams. Fortunately, Vikings wideouts Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison cover a lot of ills, and McCarthy is in a good situation under coach Kevin O’Connell, who gave Darnold 545 attempts last season. With the addition of RB Aaron Jones and subtraction of QB Kirk Cousins, the Vikings’ pass percentage dropped to 56.6 last season (from about 64 percent the previous two years). Minnesota remade an offensive line that struggled to protect Darnold late in the season, signing C Ryan Kelly and RG Will Fries, two of the top free-agent linemen, before drafting G Donovan Jackson in the first round. The Vikings also hope to have star LT Christian Darrisaw healthy after he suffered an ACL tear Week 8 last season. McCarthy should even add some rushing stats, assuming his knee holds up, as he’s an excellent athlete who ran for 632 yards and 10 TDs during his college career. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Signed a four-year, $21.85 million contract with the Vikings in July of 2024.
Limited due to hand injury
McCarthy (right hand) practiced in a limited fashion Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
McCarthy hit his right hand on a Baltimore defender's helmet while following through on a pass during this past Sunday's loss to the Ravens, but he didn't miss a snap and completed 20 of 42 passes for 248 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while rushing five times for 48 yards. Alec Lewis of The Athletic reported Wednesday that McCarthy has some swelling in the hand in question, but there's been no indication that he's in danger of missing Sunday's contest against the Bears.
McCarthy hit his right hand on a Baltimore defender's helmet while following through on a pass during this past Sunday's loss to the Ravens, but he didn't miss a snap and completed 20 of 42 passes for 248 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while rushing five times for 48 yards. Alec Lewis of The Athletic reported Wednesday that McCarthy has some swelling in the hand in question, but there's been no indication that he's in danger of missing Sunday's contest against the Bears.
NFL Stats
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Fantasy/Red Zone Stats
See red zone opportunities inside the 20, 10 and 5-yard lines along with the percentage of time they converted the opportunity into a touchdown.
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Advanced NFL Stats
How do J.J. McCarthy's 2025 advanced stats compare to other quarterbacks?
This section compares his advanced stats with players at the same position. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. The longer the bar, the better it is for the player.
Bad Pass %
25.9%Avg Target Depth
11.4 YdsSack Rate
12.2%Avg Receiver YAC
4.9 YdsReceiver Drop %
4.6%Loading Advanced NFL Stats...
2025 NFL Game Log
2025
2024
2025 NFL Game Log
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Snap Distribution / Depth Chart
Snap Counts
Snap %
Vikings 2025 QB Snap DistributionLoading Weekly Snap Counts...
This Week's Opposing Pass Defense
How does the Bears pass defense compare to other NFL teams this season?
The bars represents the team's percentile rank (based on QB Rating Against). The longer the bar, the better their pass defense is. The team and position group ratings only include players that are currently on the roster and not on injured reserve. The list of players in the table only includes defenders with at least 3 attempts against them.
vs Bears
Sunday, Nov 16th at 1:00PM
Overall QB Rating Against
79.8
Cornerbacks
89.3
Safeties
82.0
Linebackers
76.6
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2025 J.J. McCarthy Split Stats
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Measurables Review
View College Player Page
How do J.J. McCarthy's measurables compare to other quarterbacks?
This section compares his draft workout metrics with players at the same position. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that metric and it would be considered average.
Height
6' 3"Weight
219 lbsShuttle Time
4.23 secCone Drill
6.82 secHand Length
9.00 inArm Length
31.63 in
2024 Fantasy Outlook
McCarthy was the fifth of six quarterbacks drafted in the first round this spring, and while he may be in the best position of them all for the long haul, his rookie year will be a redshirt season following meniscus surgery in August. The Vikings have standout pass catcher Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson -- all under contract through at least 2026 -- at the disposal of coach Kevin O'Connell, whose offense provided 631 pass attempts last year (4th in the league) and 672 the year prior (3rd). At 6-3, 219, McCarthy gets impressive velocity on his throws but will still need to work on his mechanics once he's finished rehabbing his knee. While noted for his skill throwing over the middle at Michigan, he was less consistent on passes outside the numbers and had some issues when he needed to throw deep balls with touch. He also wasn't asked to do much in Michigan's run-heavy offense, averaging 22.1 pass attempts per game last season for a dominant team. McCarthy is an excellent athlete who ran for 508 yards and eight TDs the past two seasons, and he should provide some rushing stats to boost his fantasy scoring in the NFL. The typical recovery timeline for a meniscus repair would have him ready well before the start of Minnesota's offseason program next spring, at which point he'll be younger than many of the incoming rookie QBs in the 2025 draft class (he turns 22 in January).
More Fantasy News
Struggles against Ravens
McCarthy completed 20 of 42 passes for 248 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in Sunday's 27-19 loss to the Ravens. He added five rushes for 48 yards.
ANALYSIS
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Three total TDs in upset win
McCarthy completed 14 of 25 passes for 143 yards with two touchdowns and one interception while adding nine rushes for 12 yards and another score in the Vikings' 27-24 win over the Lions on Sunday. He also fumbled once but recovered.
ANALYSIS
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Logs full practice Wednesday
McCarthy (ankle) was a full practice participant Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
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On track for Week 9 start
Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said Wednesday that McCarthy (ankle) will be the starter for Sunday's game against the Lions and get a full week of practice in preparation for his return to the lineup, Ben Goessling of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.
ANALYSIS
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Preparing for Week 9 start
Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said that he anticipates McCarthy (ankle) having a full week of prep before returning to a starting role Sunday in Detroit, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Dealing with hand injury
McCarthy was limited in Wednesday's practice due to a hand bruise, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com reports.
ANALYSIS
The injury occurred in the third quarter of Sunday's Week 10 loss to the Ravens. McCarthy and head coach Kevin O'Connell both downplayed the injury Wednesday, but Seifert reports the second-year signal-caller wore padding on his hand and did not throw any right-handed passes during the portion of practice open to the media.
The injury occurred in the third quarter of Sunday's Week 10 loss to the Ravens. McCarthy and head coach Kevin O'Connell both downplayed the injury Wednesday, but Seifert reports the second-year signal-caller wore padding on his hand and did not throw any right-handed passes during the portion of practice open to the media.