J.J. McCarthy is the new King of the Spring.
Now, fans of the Minnesota Vikings can only hope it’s a sign of things to come this fall.
According to multiple reports, McCarthy recently broke Tom Brady’s NFL record for most touchdown passes thrown during a single year’s OTAs. He has reportedly thrown 42 touchdown passes compared to one interception in his first true football action since last summer’s meniscus injury.
Brady is said to have held the previous OTAs touchdown record at 36, but the GOAT would probably scoff at the idea of tracking individual statistics during voluntary offseason workout sessions. The legitimacy of these reports are also highly questionable, as only a small percentage of OTA sessions are open to the local media. So take “reports” like these with a grain of salt.
As laughable as McCarthy’s “record-setting” offseason may sound, he’s clearly operating at 100% health and picking up where he left off from his first training camp, when he appeared on track to give veteran Sam Darnold a run for his money before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
If anything, this story highlights why the Vikings graciously passed on new Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers and waited until Day 3 of the NFL Draft to solidify their depth chart behind McCarthy. Coach Kevin O’Connell and company know what they have in their young quarterback, and they’ve spent the offseason bulking up the protection up front and adding weapons at the skill positions for another run at the NFC North title.
OTA practices fail in comparison to joint training camp sessions or preseason games. But if McCarthy’s reported 87% completion percentage so far this spring is accurate, Minnesota could be among the more slept on teams in the NFL in 2025.
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