J.J. McCarthy doesn’t have to become a star to justify the Vikings trading up to draft him with the 10th overall pick in this year’s draft. Of course, Minnesota is hoping that he turns into one of the best quarterbacks in the league. But even if McCarthy is just decent, he’ll still be one of the more valuable assets in football: A starting quarterback on a rookie contract.
“It required a lot of effort for him to make throws that were relatively routine,” said Cosell. “Let’s say you’re talking about a dig ball at 17-18 yards and by the way, he had so many clean pockets. Because he would literally hitch up two, three times and that’s not taught that way on a dig ball. He had to really work, you could see his whole body getting involved in delivering the football. He needed a firm base to throw the ball. He needed everything right to deliver the football and he had to work to throw it. That really stood out on tape.
“I know that a lot of people have said with his pro day and things that happened since the season that he’s got a big arm. He did not show that on tape and that’s all I have. I’m not at a pro day, I’m not doing private workouts. I’m only seeing the tape from the season. Maybe he’s improved, maybe there was work on mechanics, which he needed by the way. Maybe all these things have improved since the season. But watching his college tape, cause obviously he has not played in a game since the National Championship game, that’s what I’m watching, to me, he was much more of a developmental guy based on tape.”
