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Prior to the 2024 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears didn’t even bother meeting with star Michigan quarterback prospect J.J. McCarthy. They were all in on Caleb Williams from the jump, and later handed him the keys to their franchise as the No. 1 overall pick.
McCarthy ended up being the fifth quarterback selected in that draft, going No. 10 overall to the Minnesota Vikings. Now set to take the reins as Minnesota’s starting QB, we’re about to get our first glimpse of McCarthy vs. Williams in what should be a fun reboot to a longstanding NFC North rivalry.
We won’t have to wait long, either — the Vikings and Bears will meet in Week 1 for the first Monday Night Football matchup of the 2025 season.
So which quarterback has the upper hand with NFL training camps set to kick off over the next two weeks? An ESPN panel of host Peter Schrager and analysts Dan Orlovsky and Damien Woody debated which quarterback they’d rather have entering the 2025 season, and both Orlovsky and Woody were surprisingly aligned — picking J.J. McCarthy on Monday's episode of Get Up.
Schrager: “Both of you took J.J.?”
Orlovsky: “I’ve said this. I truly believe that J.J. McCarthy is gonna go for 30-plus touchdowns and 4,000 yards. It’s a custom-fit offense for him, it has been since the moment Minnesota selected him. It’s the best play-caller slash offensive line plus wide receiver combination probably in the NFL, and if he’s average his stats will be very similar to what Sam Darnold did last year. I think he’s going to have a phenomenal season.”
Woody: “His infrastructure is outstanding in Minnesota, play caller, head coach, all of that. It’s all right there. And on top of that, you know what he’s going to do? He’s going to play with timing and rhythm. I know I’m going to get that out of him.”
It’s worth noting that both Orlovsky and Woody — a former NFL quarterback and center, respectively — gave McCarthy the nod due more to his situation than raw talent in comparison to Williams. That wasn’t exactly the spirit of the exercise. Still, it’s surprising that no one talked up the first overall pick who has a pretty strong supporting cast himself, led by new head coach Ben Johnson and a talented cast of young skill position players entering camp.
While the hype behind McCarthy this summer is understandable, unanimously picking him over a player drafted No. 1 overall with a full NFL season of experience under his belt feels a tad aggressive. McCarthy has a chance to be really good in 2025, but he’s yet to take a real snap as a pro. We’ve only seen him play in one preseason game so far. The hype train has clearly left the station here, and it’s full steam ahead.
Williams was unanimously the better prospect last spring, and neither player has done anything to change that over the past year. We’ll get a better gauge for this argument when football finally returns. Until then, this is a fun little topic that Vikings fans can use to rib their rivals in Chicago, who should be feeling more threatened by No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels — who played in the NFC Championship Game last season — than McCarthy at this point.
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