It will be an entertaining 2025 season to monitor for the Minnesota Vikings. With a new starting quarterback in J.J. McCarthy to lead the Vikings offense, head coach Kevin O'Connell will look to continue their success throwing the football.

Michigan had a top running back (Blake Corum – 258/1,245/27 with 16 catches for 117 yards and one touchdown). McCarthy completed 50 passes to running backs in 2023 (19.2% of the team’s completions). His top wideout (Roman Wilson) caught 48 passes for 789 yards and 12 touchdowns. The Vikings drafted McCarthy 10th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.

The more I keep looking at each team, if J.J. McCarthy plays well, this thing is built for success.” Yet it all comes down to that big “if” that Romo mentioned — McCarthy, The Vikings are placing their fate in the hands of a baby-faced 22-year-old quarterback who only started two years at Michigan and averaged just 22 passes per game.

J.J. McCarthy's return to the Minnesota Vikings was short but solid. The quarterback, who missed his rookie season due to a knee injury, led a scoring drive in a 20-10 victory over the Houston Texans on Saturday.

The Vikings and Patriots just held their first of two joint training camp practices on a beautiful afternoon at TCO Performance Center. Fans packed the stands to watch as the Vikings got an opportunity to test themselves against a different opponent in a practice setting after weeks of battling each other.

McCarthy booted on one snap and found Addison near the sideline. He sailed a third-down pass over the middle intended for receiver Lucky Jackson. He scrambled and secured a fourth-down conversion. He escaped on another third down and nearly completed a throw-back attempt to running back Jordan Mason.

Here are more takeaways from Day 17 of training camp: There wasn’t much to write home about when analyzing McCarthy’s progress as most of the practice was conducted at a walkthrough pace. He went through his progressions mostly at half speed with head coach Kevin O’Connell looking on.

The Minnesota Vikings are preparing for JJ McCarthy's first season, and Kevin O'Connell is encouraged by what he is seeing.