J.J. McCarthy will have no excuses in his rookie season, oddsmakers project, as the Minnesota Vikings have put him in a place to succeed immediately and burst through those NFL gates.
Despite being the fourth quarterback taken off the board, McCarthy has the second-best odds to lead rookies in passing yards, coming in at +280 odds on FanDuel.
His over/under opened at 3,075.5 yards (-112/-112), which oddly enough is the same as the Commanders’ Jayden Daniels, despite the latter coming in at +320 to lead in rookie passing yards.
Sportsbooks are expecting McCarthy to take the reigns immediately as the starting quarterback with those odds, despite Minnesota signing Sam Darnold to a one-year contract worth $10 million.
With a ton of weapons at his disposal, arguably better than any other rookie quarterback in the draft class, it will be interesting to see how they treat the offense under guru coach Kevin O’Connell.
Justin Jefferson wasn’t traded during the NFL Draft, and that McCarthy was drafted to provide stability to the position could help keep the All-Pro receiver in the fold for the year to come.
The trio of Jefferson, talented second-year receiver Jordan Addison and tight end TJ Hockenson provides an dangerous litany of weapons for McCarthy.
The Vikings’ win total is now set at 7.5 wins (+116) after opening at 6.5, although Sharp Football Analysis projects Minnesota to have the fifth-most challenging schedule in the NFL.
This line likely moved due to a combination of money coming in when McCarthy was drafted by the Vikings without having to trade their second first-round draft choice at No. 23.
Their defense, which lost edge rusher Danielle Hunter during free agency to the Houston Texans, looks to replace that talent with their other first-round pick, Dallas Turner from Alabama.
Turner was originally expected to go in the top 10 in most mock, so trading up to get him at No. 17 — while still landing McCarthy — was quite the boon for the Vikings.
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Minnesota was given a B+ for the 2024 NFL Draft by the Post’s Ryan Dunleavy, the 10th-best grade among all teams.
For the McCarthy believers, the Vikings can still be had at 11/1 to win the NFC North on Caesars Sportsbook, by far the best line among legal sportsbooks, with most other odds in the +700 range.