J.J. McCarthy Is Already the People's QB1

Imagine, if you will:

After weeks of speculation, it came down to this. In the shadow of the stadium where he had some of his biggest victories, Aaron Rodgers stood on the stage at the NFL Draft. Flanked by Dianna Russini, Michael Silver, and Chase Daniel, he demanded an answer from Kevin O'Connell regarding his interest in playing for the Minnesota Vikings.

“I want to be your quarterback,” Rodgers said. “I can make your dreams come true. I can win the Super Bowl. But I want your soul.”

O’Connell knew he was right. The Vikings loaded up the roster in free agency, and Rodgers could be the fast pass to the Super Bowl. But O’Connell was conflicted, knowing that bringing him into a culture as squeaky clean as an operating room could be a critical mistake.

Suddenly, he spotted a group of Vikings fans. Making the trip from Bemidji to Green Bay, they proudly wore their J.J. McCarthy jerseys. Replying with a steely glare, O’Connell cleared his throat and delivered the answer everybody in Minnesota was waiting for.

“Hey, Aaron,” O’Connell said. “Go take a walk!”

Russini and Silver were stunned. Daniel broke his clipboard in half. Nobody dared to talk to Rodgers like this. What are you going to do? Start a quarterback who spent all last season rehabbing from a knee injury?

But O’Connell had a plan. And he turned down Rodgers because McCarthy has already become the people’s QB1.

That seems preposterous, considering McCarthy has yet to start a game for the Vikings. Even his preseason performance against the Las Vegas Raiders last summer was in relief of Sam Darnold's impressive performance. A torn meniscus felt like a death sentence for a franchise that saw their last homegrown quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater, suffer a career-altering injury in 2016. But it felt like things would be alright when Darnold guided Minnesota to a 14-3 season.

What was supposed to be a formality came into a raging debate. Do you pay Sam Darnold $30 to $40 million to return? Or do you let him walk and trust your franchise to a player who has had approximately two preseason quarters of NFL action?

The answer seemed obvious to NFL pundits like Daniel, who wondered why Minnesota would let such production walk out the door. Nearly a week later, the former backup quarterback was floored when the Vikings threw money around like Adam “Pacman” Jones in the 2000s.

Ryan Kelly, Will Fries, Javon Hargrave, and Jonathan Allen were the key free-agent signings, and the Vikings loaded up a roster that was a legitimate contender last season. It shined the spotlight on the quarterback position when Daniel Jones signed with the Indianapolis Colts. Rodgers saw an opportunity to pounce.

For a team this close to the Super Bowl, Rodgers could come in and force his power play on the Vikings. He did it to the Packers when they drafted Jordan Love as his replacement in 2020. Rodgers tried to bring in everybody from Randall Cobb and Davante Adams in an ill-fated attempt to save the New York Jets. He convinced Netflix to film a documentary about him getting high in the Amazon. He’d be damned if the Vikings, who he tormented throughout his career, were going to say no.

But even then, the Vikings seem convinced they have their guy. Harrison Phillips revealed on the Vikes Day One podcast that McCarthy asked to sit in on defensive meetings while recovering from his injury. That initiative also impressed former Vikings safety Cam Bynum, who called McCarthy “a maniac” during an interview on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football.

If Bynum’s comments don’t sell you, listen to Kelly, who the team introduced virtually on Thursday afternoon.

If a player who has spent one week with McCarthy sees it, why wouldn’t O’Connell? He’s spent countless hours working with McCarthy behind the scenes and may have laid the most intricate quarterback development plan since Dennis Green redshirted Daunte Culpepper in 1999.

McCarthy has also taken that and brought it to the community. He

It’s why O’Connell may have turned the chance of a lifetime to work with Rodgers, who will someday be in the Hall of Fame. But for now, O’Connell is ready to work independently and tell Rodgers to have another cup of ayahuasca.