2025 Pass/Rush Stats
YDS
1450
TD
11
INT
12
YDS
174
TD
4
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.
Ruled out for Week 17
Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said Tuesday that McCarthy has been diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his right hand following an MRI and has been ruled out for Thursday's game against the Lions.
ANALYSIS
According to Ben Goessling of The Minnesota Star Tribune, O'Connell said that McCarthy's injury is "similar to a bone bruise," adding that the Vikings don't view the issue as significant enough to send the second-year quarterback to injured reserve. The Vikings are thus leaving the door open for McCarthy to play in their season finale Jan. 4 versus the Packers, but he won't have sufficient time to heal up from the injury in advance of Thursday's contest. The Vikings will turn to Max Brosmer to make his second start of the season, after the undrafted rookie came on in relief for an injured McCarthy in this past Sunday's 16-13 win over the Giants.
According to Ben Goessling of The Minnesota Star Tribune, O'Connell said that McCarthy's injury is "similar to a bone bruise," adding that the Vikings don't view the issue as significant enough to send the second-year quarterback to injured reserve. The Vikings are thus leaving the door open for McCarthy to play in their season finale Jan. 4 versus the Packers, but he won't have sufficient time to heal up from the injury in advance of Thursday's contest. The Vikings will turn to Max Brosmer to make his second start of the season, after the undrafted rookie came on in relief for an injured McCarthy in this past Sunday's 16-13 win over the Giants.
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 %
21.4%Avg Target Depth
9.7 YdsSack Rate
10.9%Avg Receiver YAC
5.0 YdsReceiver Drop %
6.8%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 Lions 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 Lions
Thursday, Dec 25th at 4:30PM
Overall QB Rating Against
81.1
Cornerbacks
82.9
Safeties
87.1
Linebackers
77.8
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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
'DNP' on practice estimate
McCarthy (hand) was deemed a non-participant on Monday's practice estimate, Craig Peters of the Vikings' official site reports.
ANALYSIS
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Set to undergo further tests Monday
McCarthy, who left Sunday's 16-13 win over the Giants, appears to have avoided a broken bone in his hand, according to Ben Goessling of The Minnesota Star Tribune, with coach Kevin O'Connell having confirmed that the QB's initial X-rays came up negative.
ANALYSIS
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Hurts hand Sunday
McCarthy won't return to Sunday's game against the Giants after sustaining a hand injury.
ANALYSIS
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Scores thrice in back-to-back wins
McCarthy completed 15 of 24 pass attempts for 250 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while taking four carries for 15 yards and a third score in Sunday's 34-26 win over Dallas.
ANALYSIS
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Career-high three TDs in big win
McCarthy completed 16 of 23 passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns in Sunday's 31-0 win over the Commanders. He added 19 rushing yards on six carries.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
May not play Thursday
McCarthy suffered an injury to his right hand during a Week 16 win over the Giants, and while initial X-rays came back negative, the quarterback was sent for further testing Monday, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com reports.
ANALYSIS
With the Vikings already eliminated from the playoffs and on a short week ahead of a Thursday game against the Lions, the injury to McCarthy's throwing hand could be enough to keep him out of the lineup. If he's ruled out, undrafted rookie Max Brosmer would get the start.
With the Vikings already eliminated from the playoffs and on a short week ahead of a Thursday game against the Lions, the injury to McCarthy's throwing hand could be enough to keep him out of the lineup. If he's ruled out, undrafted rookie Max Brosmer would get the start.