Vikings Hit With Wild Arch Manning Update Involving JJ McCarthy

The Minnesota Vikings have widely been considered one of the most quarterback-friendly environments in the NFL.

Spearheaded by the reigning NFL Coach of the Year in Kevin O’Connell and a superstar receiver in Justin Jefferson, the Vikings have helped several quarterbacks reinvent their careers.

Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold both notched career-highs for wins with 13- and 14-win seasons, respectively, under O’Connell, and earned lucrative paydays elsewhere afterward.

However, O’Connell is still in the works realizing his own franchise quarterback after incubating veteran stopgaps in Minnesota. He may have something in J.J. McCarthy, selected 10th overall in the 2024 draft.

But until McCarthy, who hasn’t played a regular-season game yet, puts his potential into action, Minnesota will remain a haven for quarterbacks.

The Aaron Rodgers flirtation during the spring was a result of the Vikings having the best possible situation for the four-time MVP, who waited several months before signing with his fallback team in the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Now, just weeks before McCarthy’s pilot run as an NFL quarterback, Minnesota is already being named as the top landing spot for next year’s projected No. 1 overall pick, Arch Manning, by Bleacher Report.

Vikings Deemed Top Landing Spot for Arch Manning Amid J.J. McCarthy’s First Season

On Friday, Bleacher Report’s Brett Sobleski named the Vikings the top landing spot for Manning, whose grandfather, Archie Manning, ended his career in Minnesota.

“If the Vikings falter with McCarthy behind center (or he suffers another injury) and the possibility of acquiring the latest Manning becomes realistic, the situation becomes real interesting,” Sobleski wrote in an August 22 article. “For Manning, the Vikings have stability and a strong roster. Offensively, whoever starts behind center will be throwing to Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson.”

Manning landing with the Vikings would be the best possible scenario for him, but the Vikings would have to be in ruin after one season with McCarthy.

That’s unlikely unless injury ravages this year’s Vikings roster.espn

Vikings Are Too Good to Land Arch Manning

Last year, ESPN shared a simulation that saw the Vikings win just four games in the 2024 season and wind up with the No. 1 overall pick.

That was considered a strong likelihood in the aggregate of ESPN’s thousands of simulations. Oddsmakers set Minnesota’s win total at 6.5 games, given Darnold’s reputation was far from sterling before a season with the Vikings.

The Darnold-led Vikings exceeded expectations, winning 14 games en route to the first Pro Bowl mention of Darnold’s career and a playoff berth.

How much of that winning effort was Darnold and how much was the Vikings will be determined by how Darnold performs with the Seattle Seahawks this season.

But with McCarthy, the Vikings only got better, thrusting open their contention window with over $300 million invested in new contracts that overhauled both the offensive and defensive lines.

Minnesota’s over-under for total wins is set at 8.5 games despite McCarthy never seeing live action in the regular season.

There’s plenty of reason the Vikings will exceed expectations again, but even if they struggle, it’s hard to see the team bottoming out to the point of landing the No. 1 overall pick in Manning.