McCarthy exits Vikings as one of franchise's biggest draft busts - ESPN

EAGAN, Minn. — Less than two years ago, Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell appeared on «The Rich Eisen Show» and uttered 12 words that will be dissected in Minnesota for years to come.

«I believe that organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations,» O'Connell said during the interview, which took place in September 2024.

Two years later, it's fair to ask: Does that explain Monday's news that the Vikings traded J.J. McCarthy for a fifth-round pick after only two seasons, 10 games and 243 pass attempts? Is that why McCarthy is now headed to the New York Giants to resurrect his career at an age — 23 years, 9 months — that makes him younger than most of the quarterbacks drafted this spring? Did the Vikings organization fail him?

Or was McCarthy simply a spectacularly historic draft bust who wouldn't have made it no matter which organization drafted him?

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The truth is that no key player in this debacle — arguably the biggest personnel miss in franchise history — is without blame.

The general manager who traded up to draft McCarthy in 2024, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, was fired in January. He and O'Connell put McCarthy on the field before he was ready. And before anyone saw anything close to a finished version of the player, the team's remaining decision-makers — O'Connell, former interim general manager Rob Brzezinski and new general manager Nolan Teasley — rendered a final judgment on him.

Even owners Zygi and Mark Wilf absorb some of the responsibility. Their insistence on never taking a competitive step back usually provides fans with entertaining seasons, but it is not