Bears Nearly Drafted JJ McCarthy Over Caleb Williams with No. 1 Pick

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JJ McCarthy - Minnesota Vikings training camp
Credit: Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

Well, it’s finally here. This week, the Minnesota Vikings will gather at TCO Performance Center in Eagan for the start of 2025 training camp. Believe it or not, the Vikings’ first preseason game against the Houston Texans is just 19 days away (Aug. 9).

Then, a month later (Sept. 8), Kevin O’Connell & Co will kick off the 2025 regular season on Monday Night Football, against the division rival Chicago Bears. They’ll tell us not to overreact to week one, but that’ll be easier said than done, after what (god-willing) will be the regular season debut of medical redshirt rookie QB, JJ McCarthy.

Not only is the 22-year-old‘s first NFL game scheduled to take place on the biggest weekly stage in all of sports, but he’ll do it in his home state of Illinois. In fact, McCarthy grew up in Evanston, IL, which is less than an hour drive up the coast of Lake Michigan from Soldier Field.

Will immense pressure weigh on JJ McCarthy during MN Vikings debut week 1?

Will the pressure of that 1.5 months from now have an effect on JJ McCarthy’s ability to play football that evening? Minnesota Vikings beat writer Alec Lewis (The Athletic) asked that question to some of the quarterback’s former coaches and trainers, who would know best.

Every single one had the same response. That the Vikings’ new quarterback was built for moments like week one of the 2025 NFL season. Since he was a kid, McCarthy has been watching, reading and listening to people who motivate him, from Michael Jordan to Tom Brady to random CEOs who give incredible YouTube presentations.

These lines sound straight out of the computation notebook McCarthy began compiling years ago. He would read quotes from Michael Jordan and scribble them down. Late at night, lying in bed, he’d hang on every word of a motivational speech from some revered business executive or renowned psychologist. The following day, his parents, Jim and Megan, would find advice jotted on the whiteboard in his room.

At IMG, McCarthy begged coaches to give him more responsibility. As in, “Send me the practice plan before tomorrow.” As in, “Allow me to make checks at the line of scrimmage — please.” The school’s quarterbacks coach, Kurt Gould, would leave his laptop open at night so McCarthy could log in to the film platform.

The Athletic

Related: JJ McCarthy Says He’s Ready to Start for the MN Vikings… Plus Much More

At every level, JJ has surprised his coaches and those around him by the way he prepares and the consistency he brings to the locker room day in and day out. In his article at The Athletic — which I caution, will make you run through the nearest wall — Lewis’ main source of background information is McCarthy’s longtime individual QB coach, Greg Holcomb.

Confirmed: JJ McCarthy wants all the pressure

The two have been working together since the summer between JJ’s 7th and 8th grade years of middle school. And if there is one thing that Greg has learned in his seven-eight years of working with the highest drafted quarterback in Minnesota Vikings franchise history, is that no moment is ever too big for this kid.

When [Holcomb] is asked how he thinks McCarthy will manage the mayhem [of week 1], he answers the same way so many of McCarthy’s former coaches and teammates do.

It’s not, “He’ll be fine.” It’s more forceful, like, “I can’t tell you how much I’d bet on that kid.”

“I don’t think it feels like weight to him,” Holcomb said.

Then what does it feel like?

“Another opportunity to do something great.”

The Athletic

These are only a couple of the stories that Alec Lewis compiled for his latest write up on JJ McCarthy, which dropped Monday morning. There’s another IMG Academy story in there where his coaches saw him out standing in the middle of the football stadium, after the lights had been turned out.

Why? He had his playbook down there with him and he was walking through the next game’s script by himself, taking “imaginary snaps” and going through the reads of each play. Again, if you have a spare wall handy, I’d highly recommend reading Lewis’ entire article.

Because once you do, you’ll walk away wondering if the Minnesota Vikings actually drafted the next Tom Brady, especially when it comes to preparation and the mental side of the game.

Ryan Poles, Chicago Bears nearly drafted JJ McCarthy over Caleb Williams

And apparently, Alec’s readers aren’t the only ones. Also included within the piece is a supposed conversation between McCarthy’s aforementioned individual QB coach, Greg Holcomb and Chicago Bears general manager, Ryan Poles.

It came during a middle school quarterbacks camp that Holcomb was hosting and Poles was attending. According to the well-known QB whisperer, that’s when the subject of JJ McCarthy came up and Chicago’s GM let it slip that the Bears nearly shocked the football world at the top of the 2024 NFL Draft, where they seriously considered selecting McCarthy over consensus No. 1 overall pick, Caleb Williams.

During a changeover at the camp, Holcomb approached Poles and introduced himself. They found their way to the subject of McCarthy.

“He was talking about how much they (the Bears) loved J.J.,” Holcomb said. “And said to me, ‘I don’t think people realize how close we were to possibly taking him.’ Obviously, they love (No. 1 pick) Caleb (Williams), but I thought that was interesting.”

The Athletic

There are nearly 1000 words in this article already, between myself and Alec, and neither of us touched on the incredible National Championship-winning career he had at Michigan. Let’s not forget that none of these stories matter if JJ McCarthy didn’t develop into an elite quarterback, which he absolutely did.

As a senior for the Wolverines, while his head coach and the entire program was embroiled in one of the most historic cheating scandals in all of sports history, McCarthy tuned out the noise and lead Michigan to a National Championship.

Related: Minnesota Vikings No Longer Babying JJ McCarthy

His haters will say he didn’t have to do much, behind such a great defense and running game. But he was the emotional and spiritual leader of a bunch that needed it desperately in that moment.

Oh, and he finished with one of the most efficient quarterback seasons in CFB history, throwing for 2,991 yards, 22 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions, on 72.3% passing.

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