Minnesota Vikings have a major problem on offense in one key area, and it’s a bigger issue with J.J. McCarthy under center
Drops have been a big problem with the Minnesota Vikings, and it’s been considerably worse with J.J. McCarthy at quarterback.
The Minnesota Vikings have had a number of issues during the 2025 season, and one of the oddest ones is the wide receivers dropping the ball.
When you look at the talent in the wide receiver room, it’s crazy to think that drops could be a problem for the Vikings. Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor, and T.J. Hockenson are all plus talents at their position, but they have dropped way too many passes this season, especially when you compare them to last season.
| Year | Attempts | Drops | Drop percentage |
| 2024 | 535 | 21 | 5.39 |
| 2025 | 405 | 24 | 8.96 |
Minnesota Vikings have a serious drop problem
There are a lot of interesting elements to the discussion when it comes to the drops. Jefferson has five, Addison has seven, Hockenson has four, and Adam Thielen, who is now with the Pittsburgh Steelers, has three drops on just 16 targets.
Now, some of the drops can be chalked up to the cost of doing business. Every wide receiver will end up dropping a pass here or there, and that includes the best in the business. One of the more interesting elements of the Vikings drop problem is how different it is with J.J. McCarthy on and off the field.
| Player | Attempts | Drops | Percentage |
| J.J. McCarthy | 220 | 17 | 11.9% |
| Carson Wentz | 169 | 4 | 3.5% |
| Max Brosmer | 47 | 3 | 8.8% |
Why J.J. McCarthy has more drops than other quarterbacks
McCarthy has just four more attempts than Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer combined, but his receivers have 10 more drops per Pro Football Focus. Why is there such a difference? It’s a combination of poor quarterback play and awfully bad luck.
One of the Vikings’ “drops” wasn’t tracked as one with Addison’s missed touchdown against the New York Giants on Sunday afternoon. Even though PFF didn’t track this as a drop, it certainly looked like one.
The other aspect with McCarthy when it comes to drops is a combination of poor throws and a lack of chemistry. Accuracy is different than ball placement. General accuracy is based upon the percentage of pass attempts caught, while ball placement is putting the ball in the right spot to make life easier. While accuracy is good, putting the ball in the right place with the right tempo is arguably just as important.
It’s something that McCarthy has not done well this season, including both the interception he threw targeting Nailor and the called-back pick-six targeting him again, which displayed very poor placement. If the throws had been placed better, both interceptions would not have happened.
One more piece of evidence that McCarthy has issues with ball placement is completion percentage over expected (CPOE). Through Week 16, among all 33 qualifying quarterbacks per RBSDM, McCarthy ranks last in CPOE at -6.2%. The 17 drops play heavily into that, with his poor placement being arguably the main culprit.
While Wentz and Brosmer have also displayed poor quarterback play, they threw a more catchable football (placement and tempo), including Wentz having a 1.1 CPOE.
J.J. McCarthy is not the only one to blame
Let’s not place all of the blame on McCarthy. He is at fault for having poor placement and throwing a few too many rocket balls, but the receivers are paid a major salary for a reason.
There is a belief with wide receivers that if the ball hits your hands, you need to catch it. Seems pretty reasonable since it’s the main aspect of their job. One reason why they struggle to catch the poorly placed throws could be a lack of chemistry. Remember that Jefferson barely practiced with McCarthy in training camp due to a hamstring injury.
Now, chemistry will only go so far, as they have had the season to build that. Even so, you don’t have time to run drills on certain routes to get the timing down perfectly and find the nuance of how each wide receiver likes each route. Plus, they need to be able to adjust to the speed at which McCarthy’s passes come in.
What can we take from everything concerning the Vikings’ drop issues? It’s a mixed bag. McCarthy needs to work on throwing a more catchable football that his receivers like, and they need to be better at catching what’s thrown their way. Both sides need to show real improvement here, and the only thing that will improve it is time.
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