The Minnesota Vikings selected their first-ever quarterback in the top 10 of the National Football League Draft in J.J. McCarthy. Reports about the future starter have been varied but mostly positive, including from his teammates.
That's very important for your teammates to be excited about your potential because they are the ones who go into battle with you and eventually will vote him to be a captain. During an interview with Jim Rome, new Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman heaped more praise on McCarthy.
“Yeah, 21 years old but a great young man,” Cashman said of McCarthy. “He’s a leader. He is eager to learn. A lot of young guys, sometimes they can come in, be a little timid or shy. But he’s walking round the locker room, big smile on his face, shaking hands, getting to know everybody.
“I didn’t know much about his game before, and I knew he was an outstanding quarterback, winning followed him at Michigan. But I didn’t realize how much heat he could put on the ball. He’s got a great long ball. And even those tight windows, which close fast at the next level — he can zip the ball past a linebacker or safety’s head and squeeze it in those tight windows. And that’s very promising to see.”
Cashman sees things from a defensive perspective which is important context. Now, the key phrase that Cashman uses is "how much heat he could put on the ball." The narrative surrounding McCarthy by a lot of the NFL Draft community was that he didn't have a strong arm. Now, he doesn't have a cannon like Josh Allen and Anthony Richardson but he can rip a seam route up the middle with relative ease.
He is also a winner which is important. McCarthy understands how to win and what it takes to win a championship, as he won a National Championship in both high school and college.
The Vikings are going to take things slow with McCarthy especially because they believe in Sam Darnold as the starting quarterback.
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