New Minnesota Vikings executive’s model liked J.J. McCarthy coming out of Michigan, and it may not matter
Andrew Healy’s QBASE model loved J.J. McCarthy coming out of Michigan, and it creates an interesting question moving forward.
We know that the Minnesota Vikings have an interesting quarterback competition coming out of mandatory minicamp. Nobody knows how exactly they will handle it with both Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy at different places in their careers. What we do know is head coach Kevin O’Connell made it clear there will be a competition.
“We want to make sure by the time we play the Green Bay Packers, that there’s been ample time to have the best possible offense we can have to help our football team, and the quarterback is going to play a big role in that,” O’Connell said last Thursday. “That’s where we’re at right now. As far as the timeline goes, I think to give an actual date would not necessarily be accurate from a portrayal of how we see it, but there is a timeline to make sure that we can allow the competition to continue and advance and really lay out a training camp that will allow us to do that, but also make a timely decision.”
Andrew Healy’s model loved J.J. McCarthy
The new Vikings No. 2 and assistant general manager, Andrew Healy, is responsible for helping develop the QBASE projection model for college quarterbacks coming into the NFL. While he hasn’t been involved in it for a while, per Arif Hasan, it’s forever linked to him due to his involvement. The interesting part about that from a Vikings perspective is that the model loved McCarthy, ranking him above New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye.
It’s been a big discussion point over the last 48 hours or so among Vikings fans, and for good reason. Healy’s model liked McCarthy in 2024, and the Cleveland Browns weren’t in the market for a quarterback with Deshaun Watson still under contract and it was before his torn Achilles tendon. Even with that information, they wouldn’t have taken him, nor did they have a first-round pick, as the Houston Texans had their first-round pick.
One question still remains: does that evaluation matter?
Now, we can’t completely rule out it still having an impact on his potential. He is just two seasons into his career with only 10 starts. That’s not a strong sample size. Even so, it’s enough to start using his NFL film and stats, along with how he is in the building more than his college profile.
Come September, we are three years removed from the 2023 season, which was McCarthy’s last at Michigan. At a certain point, you are what you are versus what your projection is.
What does Healy think of McCarthy now? Who knows, but one thing is certain. Healy, being the No. 2 in the organization, will have plenty of say on what McCarthy’s future is.