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J.J. McCarthy Injury History & Updates

Basic StatsJ.J. McCarthy's Basic Stats

J.J. McCarthy
ADP: N/A
Bye: 6
Experience: 0
Age: 21.7
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 219

Agility Score (Rank): 11.05 (90%)

Injury PredictorJ.J. McCarthy's Injury Guide

Very Low Risk

Chance of Injury in 2024

17.5%

% chance misses at least 2 quarters

Chance of Injury per Game

1.1%

1- 17√1-% Inj/Season

Projected Games Missed 2024

1.20

Durability

5.00

Ability to produce despire relatively minor injuries. 5 being most durable

Injury analysis powered by Draft Sharks Injury Guide, formerly SIP Logo

Injury History

Date League Injury Details
Nov 11, 2023 Non-NFL Pedal Ankle Sprain/Pull Unspecified Grade 1 McCarthy played through the injury.
Nov 23, 2018 Non-NFL Hand Thumb Fracture Injury date is an estimate. Despite the injury, McCarthy suited up for a state championship game in high school.
Aug 10, 2024 NFL Knee Meniscus Tear McCarthy underwent season-ending surgery in mid-August.

Basic StatsJ.J. McCarthy's Preseason Player Analysis

View QB Fantasy Rankings »

Bottom Line

McCarthy looks like an upside player in an upside situation for the long term. Unfortunately, the meniscus tear that ended his rookie season means we'll have to wait until 2025 to see if he's ready to start. We'd bet on McCarthy opening that season as the guy.

What We Learned Last Year

  • Jim Harbaugh’s offenses really don’t like to run the football.
  • Despite starting a QB that would go 11th overall in the NFL Draft plus third-round pick Roman Wilson and seventh-rounder Cornelius Johnson at WR, Michigan ranked 120th nationally in pass attempts per game.
    • That marked declines even from their 113th- and 95th-place finishes the previous two years.
  • This isn’t a knock on McCarthy. Rather, it’s an explanation for his just-OK college stats. McCarthy spent two years starting for a run-heavy play-caller, which limited the totals. But he was impressively efficient.
  • McCarthy averaged 8.7 yards per pass attempt for his career, with more than four times as many TDs (49) as INTs (11).
  • McCarthy ranked 12th last year in Pro Football Focus passing grade, among 178 FBS QBs who dropped back at least 100 times.
    • He also ranked fifth in adjusted completion rate and seventh in passer rating.
  • The run-heavy offense and overall strength of his team also limited McCarthy’s rushing opportunities. But he can run.
    • He averaged 6 yards per carry for his college career, when you strip away yards lost on sacks, according to PFF.
    • McCarthy skipped the 40 at the Combine but reportedly timed at 4.48 seconds ahead of the 2023 season. You could penalize that quite a bit for being friendly, homefield timing and still get a well-above-average result for the position.
    • He did clock a 91st-percentile 3-cone drill at the Combine, and a 72nd-percentile short shuttle.

What to Expect in 2024

  • HC Kevin O’Connell has said they view McCarthy as the “quarterback of the future.” That’s pretty clear when you draft the position 11th overall, but that declaration also came at a time in the year where coaches tend to emphasize competition over expected roles.
  • Whenever McCarthy does take the field, he’ll benefit from having one of the league’s best WR duos. Justin Jefferson would make that true with many partners. But Jordan Addison also enjoyed an encouraging debut.
  • McCarthy should also get a friendly pass rate for the first time in recent memory. Over O’Connell’s two seasons at the helm, the Vikings have ranked seventh in neutral-situation pass rate, according to RBSDM.com.
  • Even after Cousins went down last year, Minnesota still ranked 11th from Week 9 on – a stretch that included Jefferson missing four games and playing a limited role in another.
  • McCarthy’s mobility helps both his fantasy floor and ceiling.

Recent Injury Bites View All Shark Bites »

J.J. McCarthy, QB MIN

1:51pm EDT 8/14/24

J.J. McCarthy to Miss Season After Full Meniscus Repair

The Vikings announced Wednesday that QB J.J. McCarthy will miss the entire 2024 season. Surgery on the meniscus in the rookie's right knee revealed that he needed a full repair.

View Full Story »

Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy will underdog knee surgery after complaining about knee soreness. After an MRI, it was revealed that he has a torn meniscus in his right knee. The amount of time he will miss is currently unknown, but we will update when more information is available.

View Full Story »

How do Injuries impact your draft strategy?

For us, it's 1/17th of the equation. Hear us out.

The Draft War Room is the only live-sync draft tool that monitors 17 crucial in-draft indicators, including injury likelihood… and adapts to show you which players to pick throughout your draft.

See how we built the 17 indicators into our Draft War Room »
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