Vikings’ Justin Jefferson: I Want J.J. McCarthy to be ‘Confident’ to Make Plays

Sam Darnold threw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns, and the Minnesota Vikings said “best to you and the Seattle Seahawks.” Aaron Rodgers never came walking through the door. In fact, he went to the Pittsburgh Steelers after being released by the New York Jets. 

And, as a result of those events, it’s now J.J. McCarthy’s show in Minnesota. Despite his inexperience, McCarthy’s superstar wide receiver, Justin Jefferson, is a believer in the young signal-caller.

“As his teammate and as a captain of the team, just trying to make him dialed in every chance that I can,” Jefferson said about McCarthy in an interview with Yahoo Sports. “Our lockers are right next to each other, so every chance that I get to talk to him about football, about anything that goes on outside of football.

“Just try to get to know him as much as I can, because when the season comes and whenever we’re locked in, I want him to be just as confident as I am of him to make the plays out there.”

Minnesota traded up one spot to select McCarthy with the No. 10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. McCarthy played three seasons at Michigan, starting the bulk of the last two (2022-23) and helping the Wolverines win the National Championship in his junior season (2023). 

McCarthy’s rookie season was derailed by him suffering a torn meniscus in the 2024 preseason, which ended the quarterback’s rookie campaign. Darnold then became the Vikings’ official starting quarterback, helping lead them to a 14-3 season before losing to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC wild-card round.

In his final season at Michigan, McCarthy, who always presented a threat with his legs, totaled 2,991 passing yards, 22 passing touchdowns, four interceptions and a Big Ten-high 167.4 passer rating, while completing a conference-high 72.3% of his passes in a run-happy offensive scheme.

As for Jefferson, the two-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler totaled 103 receptions for 1,533 yards (14.9 yards per reception) and 10 touchdowns last season. He ranked eighth among wide receivers with an 87.2 overall grade, according to Pro Football Focus.

McCarthy inherits a stacked Vikings’ offense that includes the aforementioned Jefferson, budding wide receiver Jordan Addison — who has averaged 66.5 receptions for 893.0 yards and 9.5 touchdowns per season over his first two NFL seasons — tight end and two-time Pro Bowler T.J. Hockenson and running back Aaron Jones, who rushed for a career-high 1,138 yards, while tallying 408 receiving yards last season, among others.

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