Does Giants' trade for J.J. McCarthy make sense? Coaches, execs explain 2 key reasons

John Harbaugh chose his words carefully.

The New York Giants head coach was asked last week whether he would prefer that a quarterback joining his roster in the wake of Jaxson Dart’s season-ending surgery be a veteran.

  “A veteran?” Harbaugh repeated. “As opposed to a rookie like right now?”

The reporter clarified he was referring to the player’s age and level of experience in the NFL.

“I would, probably, but you’ve kind of got to go with what’s available as well,” Harbaugh said. “And you never know, if a younger guy becomes available that’s interesting that would fit … I think we’re looking at all that.”

Monday that player became available. 

The Giants sent a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the 10th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. The decision, even with multiple ties including McCarthy’s college career playing for John Harbaugh’s brother Jim, was surprising.

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Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell is moving on from the relatively short J.J. McCarthy era in Minnesota. (Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images)

Is McCarthy, who fell from first- to third-string quarterback quickly in Minnesota, the answer for a Giants team that lost not only Dart but also its top pass rusher in All-Pro Brian Burns (season-ending ACL tear)? How quickly can McCarthy acclimate to a new offense, new terminology and new cast of supporting teammates?

McCarthy played and started 10 games in two-plus seasons as a Viking, winning an impressive six. But that record often reflected the talent around him and even moreso, the strength of the Vikings’ defense.

McCarthy threw 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in his 10 Vikings games. Since he was drafted in 2024, his 72.6 passer rating ranks 43rd out of 44 quarterbacks who have started at least 10 games. Only Anthony Richardson Sr., whom the Indianapolis Colts tried and failed to trade in the spring, has posted a lower mark.

So why are the Giants spending an asset to bring McCarthy in? 

Coaching and front-office sources from five NFL teams offered perspective in conversations with Yahoo Sports on Monday. Their intel circled around two key reasons.

Just as Harbaugh offered choice words about the veteran he may or may not want to bring, Harbaugh similarly sent a message in how differently he describes McCarthy from Jameis Winston.

No doubt, Winston is a far more proven NFL player than his new teammate is. Winston has started nine times as many games as McCarthy and played in 11 times as many. Winston’s health has weathered the currents of the NFL better than McCarthy, who missed his entire rookie year due to a torn meniscus then seven more games last year due to a high-ankle sprain, concussion and hand injury.

But the Giants’ schematic emphasis this spring and summer wasn’t built to accentuate a quarterback like Winston, whom Harbaugh described last week as “a big, strong, passing quarterback. He can throw the ball.”

Answering one question Monday, Harbaugh described McCarthy as a player who “can throw it. He can run it. He can make plays.”

In his next answer, Harbaugh said in part: “He makes plays with his feet. He makes plays with his arm.”

Sure, the Giants could continue on without a mobile quarterback that allows them to maximize their playbook. But that would limit not just their quarterback but also their run game. While Winston is likely more capable than the game plan the Giants asked of him amid Sunday’s nor’easter conditions, he doesn’t have near the mobility nor dual threat that Dart had. And while the Giants’ playbook of course has enough volume that it could simply pivot, coaches around the league believe McCarthy will allow the Giants to better lean into a run-heavy offense with bootlegs and play action. 

One AFC assistant pointed out that the Giants’ current scheme has similarities to what McCarthy ran at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh. 

“He’s also fast,” the assistant said of McCarthy, “so some of the zone-read and option stuff [senior offensive assistant Greg] Roman likes to do will fit.”

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Giants head coach John Harbaugh didn’t see much from his offense on Sunday, although New York won to improve to 2-1. (Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images)

McCarthy was effective as a runner in Minnesota, rushing for 181 yards on 37 carries (4.9 yards per attempt) last year. He scored four touchdowns by ground and netted 12 rushing first downs.

“They spent all offseason designing those QB runs,” an NFC assistant told Yahoo Sports. “Will be interesting to see what he does with the change of scenery.”

Neither the coaches nor the executives believed McCarthy was a sure fit or answer to the Giants’ woes after McCarthy’s surgery to repair his MCL and meniscus. 

McCarthy’s accuracy and touch leave more to desire, they said, and his chance to work with the first team during weeks he’s not starting will be limited. His injury history could also limit the return on investment. 

Harbaugh wasn’t selling McCarthy as a done deal so much as a high-ceiling addition.

“There’s a lot of things he could do better from what he did, obviously, and we’re going to see where it goes from here …” Harbaugh said. “From a talent standpoint, I don’t think anybody would deny that J.J. McCarthy is a very talented young quarterback.”

How soon might that talent see the field in New York? 

Harbaugh confirmed Winston will start Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals and insisted his focus remains there.

“Our design is to win the next game,” Harbaugh said. “Our design is to be 1-0 next week. And any other conversation — you could ask me who’s going to be the starting quarterback next year or five years from now, I don’t know. …

“Jameis will be the starter for as long as I can see into the future. But I don’t know. Nobody knows.”

Given the range of outcomes for McCarthy’s Giants tenure, will the Giants’ bet pay off?

A high-ranking NFC executive laid out the cost-benefit analysis plainly.

“Fifth it’s easy,” the executive said, referring to the price. “How many top-10 picks can you get in Year 3 for a fifth?”

The Miami Dolphins spent a 2019 second and 2020 fifth-round pick in 2019 to acquire former 10th overall pick, Josh Rosen, from the Arizona Cardinals (as they drafted Kyler Murray) as he entered Year 2. The Carolina Panthers sent a 2021 sixth-round pick and 2022 second- and fourth-round picks to the New York Jets to acquire Sam Darnold entering his fourth year. The Denver Broncos acquired a fourth-year Zach Wilson and a 2024 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2024 sixth. 

Perhaps the cleanest recent parallel: The San Francisco 49ers trading a third-year Trey Lance to the Dallas Cowboys for a fourth-round pick after he’d played in 16 games with six starts. (Lance did not see the field in his first season with Dallas.)

Consider Lance’s price, after he’d won just two of six starts and thrown five touchdowns to five interceptions, and the Giants’ 2027 fifth-round pick for McCarthy begins to make sense.

“First reaction [it] seems low given the first-round pedigree, but as I think more about it, given the production and the injury history, it is probably the best they could get,” a high-ranking AFC executive said. “Especially since he wouldn’t have played moving forward and therefore no opportunity to put better tape out for teams to want to give more.”

Executives weren’t surprised that the Vikings were willing to deal McCarthy after head coach and play-caller Kevin O’Connell no longer wanted him running the offense. Signing Murray for the veteran minimum $1.3 million this spring was the first sign O’Connell had pivoted. Promoting Carson Wentz over McCarthy to start was the second. A stingier asking price might have prompted a situation like Richardson’s Indianapolis Colts — with a player still on their roster whom they’re minimally interested in building around. (The Colts don’t have the quarterback depth that Minnesota has.)

Vikings general manager Nolan Teasley said in a Monday news conference that he makes decisions “in the best interest of the organization, of the Vikings, holistically.”

Teasley spoke to the potential of McCarthy to find footing in New York even as he didn’t beat out Murray and Wentz in Minnesota.

“Continue to believe that his story is not written in this league and that he has potential to continue to grow and develop and make a difference in the National Football League,” Teasley said. “And that’s really why I think you saw another team value him and have interest in bringing him on board.”

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