J.J. McCarthy honored to be the Giants’ starting quarterback
· Yahoo Sports
The New York Giants named third-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy their starter against the Houston Texans on Wednesday.
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It’s a decision that felt inevitable since the Giants traded for the former 10th overall pick less than a month ago. But it also sudden considering McCarthy hadn’t thrown a pass for the Giants before coming in for a struggling Jameis Winston in the fourth quarter last week against the New Orleans Saints.
“Honored to be a quarterback for the New York Football Giants,” McCarthy said. “To be able to get an opportunity to go against a great Houston Texans team, and thrilled to get out there tomorrow, really get in the film room and just evaluate today’s practice to get better and go from there.”
McCarthy doesn’t have long to adapt to being named the starter. After all, the Giants travel to Houston after just three days of practice. Still, McCarthy says that the Giants have felt like a good fit since he arrived, and he’s getting comfortable.
“I feel like just being around a new group of guys, new system, new coaching staff, just a new culture. Everything about this place, it feels very fitting for me.”
McCarthy added that while the offensive system is a good fit for his skill set, it’s the culture in Giants’ facilities that’s the best fit. That, he says, reminds him of winning teams he’s been a part of in the past.
“Being in this system where they use the quarterback’s legs and a multitude of things,” he said. “But the personalities, the culture of just grinding every single day to get better and everyone helping each other to progress towards one goal. It’s been fantastic. A lot of successful buildings have similar qualities, and this building definitely has that.”
In a round-about way, it feels somewhat fitting that the McCarthy has become the Giants’ starting quarterback. He was widely linked to the Giants prior to the 2024 NFL Draft, and even expected to be a Giant before the selected Malik Nabers and Vikings traded up for him.
“There’s definitely a point where I wanted to be here,” McCarthy said. “It’s the second I got in here and the second I left. There’s something special about this building, this state, this football program, been around for 101 years. It’s got so much passion, so much tradition. Nothing about this place really gives you the kind of irk feeling to it. It’s just welcomed me with open arms since the first second I got in these doors. And it’s done the same since I got here this year. I’m extremely grateful to this organization for just welcoming me.”
The ‘point’ McCarthy was talking about was likely when McCarthy visited the Giants twice in the pre-draft process. He said at the time that he spent more time with the Giants than any other team before the draft.
Adding another layer is that the Giants are traveling to Houston, where McCarthy won the National Championship with Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines in 2024, a fact that isn’t lost on McCarthy.
“It is really special, it’s awesome,” he said. “But each game, each rep is an independent event. And going in there and just focusing on that first play and executing those six seconds within that play, that’s really the main focus. But it’s going to be really cool to be in Houston and I think we’re staying in the same hotel that we stayed in when we were there in 2024.”
McCarthy doesn’t have time to get caught up in sentimentality, however. He has a game against the Houston Texans to get get ready for, adding more tumult to a month-long whirlwind.
“A lot of change of scenery, a lot of change of language, and meeting so many great, new people,” McCarthy said, when describing the whirlwind change when the was traded from Minnesota to New York. “Just a lot of things you have to forget and move on. It’s tough when you don’t see your family for a long time. It’s easier to do that while you’re learning a whole new offense, and you have that distraction of just always being busy.”
And that’s been the biggest thing for McCarthy — learning the Giants’ offense. First he had to learn it well enough to back up Jameis Winston, and now he needs to be able to command the offense as a starter. Fortunately, he says, the Giants have a building full of excellent teachers.
“I mean, great teachers in this building,” McCarthy said. “Jameis has helped me out from the get go since I got here. Coach Nags (OC Matt Nagy), Coach Callahan (Quarterbacks Coach Brian Callahan), they’ve been doing a tremendous job of just making sure I’m up to speed.”
McCarthy also looks forward to getting help from the Giants’ intended starting quarterback, Jaxson Dart.
“I talked to him (Dart) today,” McCarthy said. “Just normal conversation. We’re both just rooting for each other.
“And like I told him, I want the same thing that you want, to help win the football games for this organization and do everything we can and be the best versions of ourselves every day to help the collective. It’s been great conversation. I love Jaxson. We’ve worked with the same QB coach out in California for a long time, so we have a prior relationship.
“I think he’s coming back this week to really dive into the game plan and be that sounding board for me. It’s going to be great because he is such a smart player and obviously very well-rounded in this offense. It’s going to be awesome to just ask him really anything and pick his brain about anything.”
Speaking of the offense, McCarthy adds an element of athleticism to the quarterback position that was lost with Dart against the Los Angeles Rams. He also adds a speed contrast to the Giants’ more power-oriented backfield. McCarthy has excellent agility for the quarterback position running an elite 6.82-second 3-cone and a very good 4.23-second short shuttle at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, as well as a very good 4.48-second 40-yard dash at Michigan’s Pro Day.
That athleticism opens up — or re-opens — a world of plays that the Giants had to shelve with Winston as the starter.
“I feel like it just adds multiplicity to where you can attack the defense,” McCarthy said. “It’s always doing my job of holding the backside player and making sure that you get that split second to the running back to split that crease and make it a 15-yard gain instead of a six-yard gain. So, there’s a lot of different factors that come with things, not just QB run specific, it adds a lot of elements to just the backside stuff, carrying out your keeper fakes on wide zone stuff.
“Yeah, I definitely feel like that’s an element that attacks defenses very well.”
Ultimately, this is a econd chance for McCarthy, who had fallen all the way to QB3 in Minnesota. But that’s also where he saw former New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold revive his career when he stepped in for McCarthy when he tore his meniscus as a rookie. He understands the magnitude of the opportunity before him.
“Every time you step on the field, it’s an opportunity,” McCarthy said. “Whether you’re the starting guy, whether you’re not, you have a chance to prove yourself, prove it to your peers, and prove it to everyone around you. And at the end of the day, I approach it the same way. How can I attack that next rep, how can I win this day and go from there.”