Vikings Prediction is Good News for J.J. McCarthy

 
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When it comes to the Minnesota Vikings, one NFL analyst is pointing out a major strength on the squad, and it's J.J. McCarthy.
The Minnesota Vikings are heading into an important season, and it will mark their first with University of Michigan product J.J. McCarthy serving as quarterback, God willing that he doesn’t get injured again. McCarthy had to sit out his entire rookie season with an injury, so the 2025 season is pretty much his rookie season.

Minnesota isn’t messing around. The team has brought it a stables of high-caliber players to surround McCarhty, and they’re going for the jugular this year. But, because McCarthy is still an unknown, some in the NFL are worried about he might perform.

Heading into the 2025 season, NFL experts and analysts are looking at the NFL teams and making their predictions about what’s to come. When it comes to the Minnesota Vikings, one NFL analyst is pointing out a major strength on the squad.

 
Minnesota Vikings Have Reason to Hope
In a June 10 feature for PFF, NFL analyst and writer Dalton Wasserman gives one reason for optimism for each NFL team in 2025. The reasons usually have to do with certain players who are expected to help their teams immensely.

“Every NFL team will enter the 2025 season with a clean slate — no wins, no losses,” he stated in the story. “While those records will shift dramatically in the following weeks, each franchise has some hope of finding success until then.”

For the Minnesota Vikings, it’s all about J.J. McCarthy, of course. The idea of McCarthy finally being back with the Vikings and ready to go in September is pretty exciting.

“Quarterback J.J. McCarthy didn’t get to play any regular-season snaps due to a knee injury, but he looked promising in his lone preseason start on his way to an 84.0 PFF passing grade,” Wasserman stated. “There is no obstacle to McCarthy starting, and he should be able to succeed in Kevin O’Connell’s play-action-heavy attack.”

He added, “Over his final two seasons at Michigan, McCarthy posted a 91.7 play-action PFF passing grade that ranked second in the Power Four, behind current Falcons starter Michael Penix Jr.”

 
Underrated NFL Opponents in 2025
While the Minnesota Vikings are considered one of the stronger teams in the NFL, there are other teams that are currently flying under the radar that could come up and upset the major players. In a separate June 12 feature for PFF, Wasserman names five teams that are underrated going into the new season.

“Football prognosticators spend the entire offseason searching for legitimate Super Bowl contenders, as well as those who could be dark horses to make noise in the postseason,” Wasserman notes in the piece. “In the process, some teams get overlooked, whether because of market size or an underestimation of their talent level and ability to win games.”

The teams that could surprise everyone are the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks. In my opinion, all of those teams make sense, expect for the 49ers, because they’re always favored, it seems, going into a new season. You totally know what I mean.

 
Anne Erickson is an award-winning reporter for Heavy Sports covering the NFL, NBA and college football. Anne Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson