WATCH: JJ McCarthy Goes Through Summer Workout With Veteran Wide Receiver

With his hands full battling for the starting job in Minnesota, rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy continues to put in the work.

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy kisses the championship trophy to celebrate the Wolverines' 34-13 win over Washington in the national championship game at NRG Stadium in Houston on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

By all accounts, Vikings rookie QB JJ McCarthy has his hands full battling for the starting job in Minnesota. His primary competition is with six-year veteran and former first-round pick, Sam Darnold. Although Darnold is now on his fourth NFL team entering his seventh year, McCarthy is still adjusting to life in the NFL - along with all of the growing pains that come along with it.

"McCarthy looked like a quarterback with the talent to be a top-10 pick but with the inexperience of a 21-year-old. In other words: Exactly what should have been expected. At times, he fit darts into small windows against aggressive coverage. On other occasions, he bounced passes to receivers with no defenders in the drill."

- ESPN's Kevin Seifert

Growing pains aside, anyone who doubts McCarthy's ability to rise to the occasion should proceed with caution. Heading into his sophomore year at the University of Michigan, McCarthy beat out returning starter Cade McNamara for the starting job in Week 2 of the 2022 season. From that point forward, McCarthy put together an overall record of 27-1, helped lead Michigan to two consecutive Big Ten Championships, and ultimately a National Championship in 2023.

Knowing he's got plenty of work to put in, McCarthy recently indicated that he doesn't intend to take any vacations over the summer. Instead, he plans to spend the next month developing his game as much as he can before training camp starts in late July. One of the best ways to do that is by getting in reps with a veteran wide receiver who's a two-time Pro-Bowler and holds the NFL record for most consecutive 100-yard receiving games. It's even better when that guy happens to be a former Viking.

#Vikings QB JJ McCarthy throwing to #Panthers WR Adam Thielen 🙌

🎥: Adam Thielen via IG pic.twitter.com/xwJqL4eGJ0

— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) June 26, 2024

As for the road ahead for McCarthy, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell is well aware that his rookie QB is capable of taking the Vikings to new heights, which is why he's willing to be patient in allowing for that development to occur. In fact, O'Connell indicated that he's not expecting a "finished product" when McCarthy makes his way to the field. Instead, the expectation is that his rookie QB will learn the most important aspects of the position by facing in-game adversity.

"This is not going to be something where you can have ultra control to the point where, when J.J. is out there playing for us, we are expecting some finished product," O'Connell said during minicamp. "That's part of the development... getting exposed to in-game adversity, getting in a rhythm and feeling like you can't miss, and then there's other days where it feels like the defense has 13 guys on the field. You've got to be able to withstand both and overcome both, and continue to just have a next-snap kind of mentality where you're worrying about the details of your job with the other guys in the huddle."

— Enjoy more free NFL Draft coverage with NFL Draft on SI —

More NFL Draft News

2025 NFL MOCK DRAFT 

Vikings: J.J. McCarthy continues to work through growing pains early on

Falcons: Michael Penix Jr. showing inconsistencies that on his Washington tape

Sports Illustrated Predicts Green Bay Packers Draft Pick Could Be Biggest Draft Bust