Former Vikings GM addresses development of J.J. McCarthy

Former Minnesota Vikings general manager Jeff Diamond still has connections to that organization and recently discussed the offseason development of rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

"I think he’s had a really good spring, and hearing Kevin O’Connell, the Vikings coach, talking about it and, as you know, I do a lot of media work surrounding the Vikings, and I certainly have gotten good feedback on J.J.’s progress to this point," Diamond explained on an edition of the "Valentine’s Views" podcast, as shared by Ed Valentine of Big Blue View. "But he’s still entering training camp behind Sam Darnold."

Long before the Vikings moved up a spot in the 2024 NFL Draft to grab McCarthy via the 10th overall pick, they signed Darnold as both a mentor for a first-year pro and a temporary starter. While McCarthy seemingly impressed veteran players with his skills and work ethic throughout springtime practices, Darnold is on track to remain atop the club's depth chart until further notice and for Minnesota's Week 1 game at the New York Giants on Sept. 8.

"I really expect that McCarthy will take over at some point during the regular season," Diamond predicted. "I don’t think it’ll be Week 1 in the Meadowlands. I think that Darnold will get that start. I expect Darnold to be there probably for the first six, seven [games], maybe even a little bit more."

Multiple analysts have noted that the Vikings could use the break during their Week 6 bye to prepare McCarthy for his first regular-season start. Minnesota plays a Week 8 "Thursday Night Football" game at the Los Angeles Rams on Oct. 24 and, thus, would have some extra time to prepare McCarthy to face the Indianapolis Colts in Week 9 on Nov. 3 if O’Connell wanted to go down such a route.

As of Friday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Darnold as the betting favorite at -320 odds to start against the Giants over McCarthy (+230) this September. That same outlet had McCarthy fourth among the betting favorites at +1500 odds to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.