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The Minnesota Vikings were one of the best stories in the NFL during the 2024 season. Minnesota shocked the world by winning 14 games with Sam Darnold at quarterback. Could the Vikings do the same thing in 2025 under second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy?
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell made it clear in a recent interview that he has not crowned McCarthy as the team’s starter yet.
O’Connell also referenced Malcolm Gladwell’s “10,000 hours rule” when talking about McCarthy.
“I feel really good about where he’s at fundamentally,” O’Connell said. “But it’s still those 10,000 reps, those 10,000 hours, and we’re not that far into that process, and I challenge him every day to embrace it. [He] can’t be too hard on himself, but at the same time, ‘What is your standard to get not where you are right now, but where you want to get to?’ And he’s done a good job of attacking that every day.”
For those who are unfamiliar, Gladwell’s rule is that it takes 10,000 hours of dedicated practice to master a complex skill.
McCarthy’s season-ending injury before the 2024 season limited his number of reps during his rookie year. McCarthy had the opportunity to process the team’s offense mentally throughout the season, which should put him a step ahead this fall.
Regardless, McCarthy should have an easy time winning the starting job in training camp later this summer.
It is fair that the Vikings want to see more from McCarthy before they call him their starter.
Thankfully, McCarthy is apparently in great shape while he recovers from last year’s season-ending injury.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler noted in a recent article that Minnesota is encouraged by the progress McCarthy has made in his recovery this offseason.
“The Vikings feel that J.J. McCarthy in day nine of his offseason workouts was a lot stronger than day one,” Fowler said. “Coming off that knee issue, they knew he could start a little slowly, but they like the way he’s throwing the ball. They feel very comfortable with where he’s at going into training camp; they didn’t sign [Aaron Rodgers] in lieu of McCarthy because they believe in their three-year plan… They believe they can win the Super Bowl in the next three years.”
Fowler snuck in a bold statement there that Minnesota believes they can win a Super Bowl over the next three seasons.
It will be fascinating to see if the Vikings recapture the same magic they had in 2024 later this fall.
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