The Giants traded for J.J. McCarthy between weeks three and four, as their starting quarterback Jaxson Dart was deemed out for the season.
Dart went down with a season ending injury in the Giants first drive against the Rams in Week 2. Jameis Winston stepped up for the Giants, but the quarterback position lacked depth after Dart’s injury. In hopes to fill the quarterback void in their offense, the Giants traded a fifth-round pick for former Vikings player McCarthy.
McCarthy was the Vikings former first-round pick, but they traded him in lieu of his poor performance in his first two seasons. McCarthy had major success in college going 27-1 and winning the national championship with Michigan. He did not have similar success in the NFL and was an infamous bust for the Vikings after he missed his first season due to a torn meniscus, then started 6-4 in his second season before facing more injuries.
He very quickly fell out of favor with the Vikings coaching staff after his extremely poor performances. The Vikings picked up Kyler Murray in free agency and McCarthy fell behind Carson Wentz and became the Vikings third string quarterback.
The Giants had McCarthy on their radar even before he was drafted. He played with John Harbaugh at Michigan, the current Giants head coach Jim Harbaugh’s younger brother. With the sixth pick of the draft the Giants had the opportunity to take him, instead they drafted wide receiver Malik Nabers. Just four picks later, the Vikings picked McCarthy.
Winston is currently starting for the Giants as McCarthy is given time to learn the Giants offense. Winston led the Giants to a roller coaster win over the Arizona Cardinals with his turnover problem rearing its ugly head after he threw two extremely poor interceptions.
McCarthy is notably younger than Winston and is only four months older than Dart making him a more obvious priority for the Giants. It is up to debate whether Winston’s starting job is in jeopardy, but with his turnover problem, McCarthy may need to step up as the Giants’ shot caller.
