'Saw the highlights' Colin Cowherd commits cardinal sin when discussing Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy and it's getting tiresome

The narratives surrounding Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy are getting tiresome and they keep getting pushed by the sports media personalities with the biggest voices. Colin Cowherd has become one of the biggest and most popular radio show hosts in the country. Currently with Fox Sports, Cowherd has been with ESPN in his past and […]

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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Jun 10, 2025; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) practices during minicamp at the Minnesota Vikings Training Facility.
Jun 10, 2025; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) practices during minicamp at the Minnesota Vikings Training Facility. Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The narratives surrounding Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy are getting tiresome and they keep getting pushed by the sports media personalities with the biggest voices.

Colin Cowherd has become one of the biggest and most popular radio show hosts in the country. Currently with Fox Sports, Cowherd has been with ESPN in his past and doing this for the better part of 20 years. When he says something, it gets mainstream attention quickly.

That element is what makes this so frustrating. At mandatory minicamp practice on Tuesday, McCarthy threw an interception for the third consecutive practice open to the media.

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Colin Cowherd continues to be wrong about J.J. McCarthy

The interception was the start of the conversation about McCarthy, which diverted to talking about traits in a franchise quarterback. Cowherd doesn't think that McCarthy has an elite trait.

"There's so much mystery here. Why does Minnesota keep flirting with other quarterbacks? And there's too many conflicting reports on JJ McCarthy, so I just find the whole thing. There's a lot of stuff I just don't know. I feel sometimes I'm getting, I'm getting a little bit of a spin job here.

"I think J-Mac (Jason McIntyre), you and I have had this discussion to be a great franchise quarterback. And I, again, I think Jalen Hurts is probably 10th best in the league. But I do think he's a top 10 franchise quarterback. If you're top 10 in a league of 32 teams, you're good. There's got to be a trait. There has to be a wow trait.

"So let's just go through them. Mahomes? Arm talent. Allen? Sheer force of size. Lamar? Athletic ability. Stafford has one of the great arms in the last 30 years in the league. He's got a magic arm. You start stacking up these quarterbacks. There's, there's a trait like Elway's arm, Marino's arm, Aaron Rodgers' arm and release. I go back and look at the people I trust. You know, there's one, one or two things I never buy. I never buy this: When you say this about a quarterback, that guy is a winner. Everybody under Jim Harbaugh and Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban's a winner. I don't want to hear that. If you go back and look his arm is modest. His escape ability is modest. His release wasn't super quick. There is no great trait."

When you watch McCarthy throw the football, it's evident that he's got a whip of an arm. He threw the ball 61 miles per hour at the NFL Scouting Combine. Josh Metellus said after Tuesday's practice that he's got great zip.

"He has one of the best zips I've seen since being in the league, and I've been around some guys who could sling it. Shoutout to Sean Mannion, he was slinging it. He had a great arm. But yeah, (J.J.) throws the ball as good as I've been around. He can put the ball where he wants to."

Here's where things get really interesting. The only points that Cowherd makes about McCarthy are based on other's scouting reports and the sole preseason game that he played in last year, where he was admittedly doninant.

"You know, my two questions are, I've seen one preseason game. He was good in it, by the way, 11-17, 190 yards, couple of touchdowns, passer rating like 100. He was very good. I saw the highlights. Didn't watch the game live. Saw the highlights. Was very good. Then you get to surgeries. So we don't know what he is, but it is. There's so much mystery here. Why does Minnesota keep flirting with other quarterbacks? And there's too many conflicting reports on JJ McCarthy, so I just find the whole thing. There's a lot of stuff I just don't know."

There's one thing that stands out in those comments: "I saw the highlights. Didn't watch the game live." Yes, you read that right. 

Why is he making sweeping generalizations after seeing the highlights of one preseason game? McCarthy also has plenty of arm strength in the intermediate range, especially on in breaking routes that head coach Kevin O'Connell loves to call. It's also frustrating that Cowherd seemingly hasn't done the work on him based on how he's discussing McCarthy's traits.

He's got plenty of ability and you can argue his arm talent is elite, especially with the mechanical changes that the Vikings have been working with him on. His arm strength is fine, but refining the mechanics will make those things a lot better.

Yes we don't know how good McCarthy will be, but he's shown to be better traits wise than Cowherd's analysis would lead you to believe. Maybe you should watch the all-22 Colin. You'll come to a different conclusion.

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