Raiders Were Reportedly Impressed By JJ McCarthy

In his first preseason game as a member of the Minnesota Vikings, rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy started off a bit slow, throwing an interception to end his first drive of the game.

He quickly bounced back to show those in attendance and watching from afar why his football brain and mentality is just as exciting as his physical talent. He knew what he did wrong, dumped the emotions before they scarred his judgement, and moved onto the next drive.

JJ McCarthy looked good in his first game as a Minnesota Vikings QB

In the throws that followed his interception, the 2024 No. 10 overall pick looked sharp, accurate and showed off his rocket-arm multiple times. When the dust settled, McCarthy finished 11-of-17 for 188 yards, 2 touchdowns and just the one early INT.

Highlights of JJ McCarthy's preseason debut pic.twitter.com/ywRbZnSw6F

— Jake B 〽️ (@MichFootballBEL) August 11, 2024

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Just about everybody watching the Minnesota Vikings vs Las Vegas Raiders game on Saturday came away impressed by what they saw from JJ McCarthy. And that’s not limited to fans or coaches who were cheering and/or wearing purple.

Las Vegas Raiders impressed by McCarthy too

According to Albert Breer (SI), the Las Vegas Raiders left U.S. Bank Stadium praising what they saw from the Vikings’ rookie QB too. Specifically, Raiders officials told the well-respected NFL insider that JJ’s athleticism and decisiveness stood out most.

Raiders folks thought [JJ McCarthy] played really well against them. In particular, his athleticism and decisiveness stood out, good signs since the biggest questions facing the 10th pick in April’s NFL draft concerned how he’d look outside a Michigan scheme that leaned heavy on a dominant run game.

Albert Breer – Sports Illustrated

Given everything we have heard, and seen, from McCarthy through his first few months as a member of the Minnesota Vikings, fans may be able to exhale slightly. We still do not know what the Michigan product will become, or how we will see him 10 years from now.

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But after one preseason game, and months of practices under his belt, I think it’s safe to assume we have avoided worst case scenario with this 1st round rookie QB. He is not Christian Ponder. That doesn’t mean he is going to be the next Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen… but he doesn’t appear to have a lot of “bust” in him either.