How J.J. McCarthy's first four starts compare to the rest of the 2024 QB class

McCarthy has been up and down during his first four starts. How do his numbers compare to Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Michael Penix, and Bo Nix?

Nov 9, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) throws a pass against the Baltimore Ravens during the first quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

There is no hiding from the reality that J.J. McCarthy has been very up and down during his first four starts as an NFL QB. He had a subpar first three quarters in Chicago before an epic fourth quarter comeback, and then a miserable game against Atlanta a week later in which he sprained his ankle and missed the next five games. He returned to lead the Vikings to a thrilling win at Detroit, followed by a dismal game against the Ravens.

McCarthy hasn't been the instant success he was in college, but the question is how much of the early struggles are to be expected — and what is the proper level of concern?

"There's going to be natural growing pains that sometimes unearth themselves," said Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell in his weekly appearance with radio play-by-play voice Paul Allen on Tuesday.

The former Michigan star missed the entirety of his rookie campaign after tearing his meniscus during his first preseason game in 2024. Then, just two games into the 2025 season, McCarthy suffered a high ankle sprain.

So far, McCarthy has thrown for 692 yards, five touchdowns, and six interceptions in his first four starts. Worryingly, McCarthy has struggled with accuracy, completing just 53.7% of his passes. McCarthy's inconsistencies have been highlighted by comparisons to the rest of the heralded 2024 quarterback draft class.

Coming off a national title with Michigan, McCarthy was part of one of the most stacked QB draft classes in recent memory. He was the fifth of six quarterbacks selected in the first 12 picks of the 2024 draft.

QBs selected in first round of 2024 NFL Draft

• 1(1) - Caleb Williams - Chicago Bears
• 1(2) - Jayden Daniels - Washington Commanders
• 1(3) - Drake Maye - New England Patriots
• 1(8) - Michael Penix Jr. - Atlanta Falcons
• 1(10) - J.J. McCarthy - Minnesota Vikings
• 1(12) - Bo Nix - Denver Broncos

Of those six QBs, four played a majority of their rookie seasons as their team's starting quarterback. McCarthy was the only one to not appear at all during his rookie campaign. Atlanta's Michael Penix Jr. started the final three weeks of the Falcons' season after Kirk Cousins was benched.

So, how does McCarthy's first four games compare to the rest of the 2024 QB class? While his seven total touchdowns (five passing, two rushing) is tied with Jayden Daniels (three passing, four rushing) and Drake Maye (six passing, one rushing), his completion percentage is the lowest of the group.

Below is a table comparing how each of the quarterbacks performed over their first four starts:

Name	Record	Completions	Attempts	Comp %	Passing yards	Yds/GM	Passing TD	INT	Rushing yards	Rushing TD
J.J. McCarthy	2-2	58	108	53.7%	692	173.0	5	6	110	2
Caleb Williams	2-2	87	141	61.7%	787	196.8	3	4	79	0
Jayden Daniels	3-1	87	106	82.1%	897	224.3	3	1	218	4
Drake Maye	1-3	78	117	66.7%	748	187.0	6	4	197	1
Michael Penix Jr.	1-3	85	142	59.9%	1,035	258.8	4	3	32	2
Bo Nix	2-2	83	138	60.1%	660	165.0	1	4	110	2

While the struggles have been notable, O'Connell remains positive about what he's seen from McCarthy, saying, "I think he's really shown some real flashes of the true competitor, and this guy is out there giving absolutely everything he possibly can."

McCarthy's struggles seem relatively in line with the other QBs he was drafted alongside. While he's still in the very early stages of his career, those other quarterbacks have had time to develop and play. Here is how each of them has performed in the games since their first four starts:

Name	Record	Completions	Attempts	Comp%	Passing yards	Yds/GM	Passing TD	INT	Rushing yards	Rushing TD
Caleb Williams	9-13	442	714	61.9%	4,890	222.3	30	6	656	3
Jayden Daniels	13-9	424	656	64.6%	4,677	212.6	35	11	1,070	5
Drake Maye	10-8	348	499	69.7%	4,061	225.6	28	11	495	3
Michael Penix Jr.	3-4	126	218	57.8%	1,509	215.6	8	3	40	0
Bo Nix	16-8	519	801	64.8%	5,385	224.4	47	16	539	5

The big notables are that Daniels and Nix both led their squads to the playoffs as rookies, with Daniels taking the Commanders to the NFC Championship game. Three of them have winning records since their first four games, including Maye and Nix leading two of the top teams in the AFC.

The other thing that sticks out is that progress is different for each of them. Daniels' accuracy has dropped off from a ridiculous start, but, as noted before, that didn't hurt him or the Commanders on their run to the NFC title game. Caleb Williams struggled during his rookie season but has found his groove in his second year with a new head coach in Ben Johnson. Drake Maye has developed into an MVP candidate, while Penix has struggled after impressing over the final three games of last season.

Perhaps the biggest factor in whether a young quarterback will be successful or not is the system around them. In that, McCarthy has arguably one of the better situations of the quarterbacks in his class, and we'll find out how he levels his play, or not, going forward.

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