The Packers face J.J. McCarthy for the first time, and his fiery talent paired with unpredictable plays could shake Green Bay’s defense to its core.QQ
Vikings quarterback struggled over his first five NFL games, but he has also shown some good attributes.
The start of J.J. McCarthy’s trajectory hasn’t been smooth on the Minnesota Vikings. Taken with the 10th overall pick in last year’s draft, he has missed 22 of 27 potential games due to multiple injuries. And in the five games he started, the numbers show a player struggling to find his rhythm and consistency at the NFL level.
On Sunday, McCarthy plays the Green Bay Packers for the first time in his career. The game at Lambeau Field has massive playoff implications for both sides, and the Packers want to consolidate their promising defense against a player who is essentially a rookie quarterback.
The Raiders need to BLOW IT UP again after another rough season…The Raiders need to BLOW IT UP again after another rough season…
The numbers show part of the story
It’s impossible to look at McCarthy’s numbers and project much success. Outside of his willingness to push the ball down the field, every other metric is a failure.
J.J. McCarthy has been mostly inefficient (35th among 35 QBs in adjusted EPA/play), inconsistent (34th/35 in success rate), and hasn’t taken advantage of the scheme (35th/35 in completion percentage over expectation), via RBSDM, and last in passer rating.
Taking a look at qualitative tools from PFF, it doesn’t get much better. He’s 37th of 41 qualifying QBs in passing grade, 38th in passing grade, dead last in turnover-worthy play rate.
McCarthy doesn’t make the life of his offensive linemen easier, being 33rd in pressure to sack ratio and 35th in average time to throw.
If there’s one area where McCarthy is good at it’s creating explosive plays. He’s first in average depth of target and third in big-time throw rate, despite his struggles.
How J.J. McCarthy has actually played
Numbers tell part of the story, and putting so many stats together it’s easier to see the problems in McCarthy’s game early in his NFL career. But, according to Minnesota Vikings writer at A to Z Sports, Tyler Forness, McCarthy “has been objectively bad over the course of the first five games of his career, but it’s nowhere near as bad as it seems.”
