Optimism is the name of the game as Minnesota Vikings fans wait to see if J.J. McCarthy will succeed in his first year as the starting quarterback. Despite missing his rookie campaign due to a meniscus tear, he has Kevin O’Connell calling plays and developing him on and off the field. The general consensus is that it’s an ideal scenario for a young QB.
The Vikings have also upgraded their roster during the offseason. They revamped their entire interior offensive line, signing guard Will Fries and center Ryan Kelly before drafting Donovan Jackson, and traded for running back Jordan Mason.
But they didn’t need all new players to present an enticing supporting cast for McCarthy. The Vikings still have Justin Jefferson, arguably the best receiver in football since they drafted him in 2020. Jordan Addison has proven to be a high-end second receiver, catching 133 passes for 1,786 yards and 19 touchdowns in two seasons. And T.J. Hockenson, who spent all last summer rehabbing an ACL tear suffered in December 2023, is healthy coming into this year’s camp.
However, after three weeks of training camp, Minnesota’s receiving depth is being tested in both expected and unexpected ways. The league officially handed Addison a three-game suspension due to a “wet reckless” driving incident last summer, something the team had been anticipating.
But Jefferson has missed the last three weeks with a “mild hamstring strain.” He appears to be in good spirits on the sideline when he watches camp. Still, he suffered a hamstring injury on his other leg in 2023 that forced him to miss seven games. The team is confident he’ll be ready for Week 1, but Jefferson is missing valuable time to build chemistry with McCarthy.
Jefferson’s absence has put the spotlight on the depth players in Minnesota’s receiving room. Fourth-year wideout Jalen Nailor entered camp bigger and is looking to capitalize on a contract year. However, he has had several drops in practice. That’s annoying as a WR3, but it’s downright troubling as the projected WR2 for the season’s first three games.
Minnesota signed former second-round pick Rondale Moore to battle for the WR4 spot and punt-return job. However, he suffered a season-ending injury on a return in last Saturday’s preseason game against the Houston Texans. The Vikings may not have expected him to catch 60 passes this year, but he’s explosive when healthy and would have provided a different way to attack defenses.
That means the Vikings could be counting on rookie third-round pick Tai Felton to contribute to the offense in a larger role much sooner than anticipated. He was second in the Big Ten in receptions in 2024. Still, he lacks the polish necessary to be an effective WR3.
Lucky Jackson has spent the past two seasons with the Vikings. Last year, he was on the practice squad after appearing in three games during the 2023 season. He and McCarthy have had a good rapport in camp. Still, do the Vikings want to count on a 28-year-old wideout with zero career receptions to step into a prominent role?
The only good news is that this isn’t uncharted territory for the O’Connell and the Vikings. Last year, in Sam Darnold’s first and only season in Minnesota, Hockenson missed the first seven games of the year, Addison missed Weeks 2 and 3, and even Jefferson exited the Week 2 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in the third quarter.
Despite that, Darnold led the Vikings to a 4-0 record, winning NFC Offensive Player of the Month in September. Even without his top three targets in that win over the Niners, Darnold led a 14-play, 62-yard drive that ended in a field goal, giving the Vikings a 23-14 lead with 3:30 left in regulation. He converted three third-down conversions on the drive, including a 26-yard pass on third-and-eight to Nailor that got the Vikings into field goal range.
Part of the success came from a rushing attack that averaged over 123 yards per game in those four contests. The Vikings are hoping that their improved offensive line, plus Mason, can improve a run game that averaged just over 109 yards all season.
However, to keep the ground game consistent for McCarthy, the Vikings can’t fall behind. They trailed for only three minutes and 27 seconds in their first five games of 2024. While that may be unrealistic in 2025, an improved defense should, at the very least, help keep contests close and prevent McCarthy from having to throw while down by multiple scores.
As far as adding weapons at receiver, the Vikings may be stuck with what they have. They could bring back Brandon Powell, who was a reliable yet unspectacular role player the past two seasons in Minnesota. Amari Cooper is still available, but can he get up to speed to even make the difference that the offense needs?
McCarthy already has enough pressure going into 2025. The Vikings went 14-3 last year with Darnold, placing greater expectations on McCarthy than the average first-year starter. Their first two games are in primetime, and the third is against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.
That’s enough pressure for a first-year starting quarterback, even if they have all their weapons. Can McCarthy deliver in the big moment with a receiving corps that is limited in resources?