The Positive Reviews Just Keep Rolling In for J.J. McCarthy

Is it just us, or has the buzz about J.J. McCarthy been all positive ever since he set Minnesota on fire by comparing his relationship with Kyler Murray two guys sitting on opposite sides of a high school classroom?

“It’s just like two guys in a classroom,” McCarthy said on May 27. “He sits on one side. I sit on the other side. It’s the coaches’ responsibility to teach us and coach us.”

Since then, we've had a barrage of commentary about McCarthy, and all of it is positive.

Justin Jefferson said McCarthy has improved in his ability to layer the football.
Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said McCarthy has improved his technique and fundamentals, and that his growth is a "continuous upward arrow."
New GM Nolan Teasley applauded McCarthy's "upside" and said the "best man" will win the QB competition.

We've also heard how Murray has thrown some interceptions in 7-on-7 practice sessions, while McCarthy has looked pretty sharp. And while Murray has lamented splitting reps with McCarthy as QB1, McCarthy has said all the right things.

The only slice of negativity related to McCarthy since speaking to the media on May 27 was a report that was taken out of context after he jogged off the practice field on June 4, while the other quarterbacks on the roster stuck around for more work.

Alec Lewis wrote this about McCarthy in his June 4 piece for The Athletic: "[Kevin O’Connell] knows the degree of difficulty of throws in his scheme, and he knows whether or not it matters that McCarthy stretches away from the other three quarterbacks before practices like Thursday’s, or that he jogged off the field Thursday before the other three, who stayed behind together."

Everyone panicked. McCarthy ran off the practice field first? Lewis had to go on X and provide some context, saying, "Does sound like J.J. McCarthy had golf plans this weekend with a bunch of teammates and practice went long, hence the quick exit post practice. Context critical, always."

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero corroborated the tee time report during a Friday chat with Rich Eisen.

"J.J.'s done everything right other than one of 10 quotes in that press conference a couple of weeks ago. He's done everything right through this offseason, from everything I've been told, in terms of his attitude, his approach, how he's maximizing his reps," Pelissero began.

"There was some story that took off locally here about how J.J. left the practice field briskly after the OTA last week. Ran off the field. It was because practice ran long and he had a tee time with his offensive linemen. Would you want him doing anything else but golfing with the offensive linemen when he's got the opportunity to? He's still proceeding like he's the guy."

Pelissero said he's leaning towards Murray eventually being named the starter.

"I think the coaches know which direction this is probably going to go, but they're not willing to say it's 100% decided just yet," he said.

💻 @TomPelissero

What's the latest from Minnesota on #SKOL quarterback competition? Is it truly 50/50 and up in the air at this point?#NFL pic.twitter.com/5A5g9dGHYG
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) June 12, 2026

Add us as a preferred source on Google