The Los Angeles Rams could make a big splash in their quarterback room by adding former first-round pick J.J. McCarthy.
The offseason has been mighty kind to the Los Angeles Rams. They've built a formidable squad that has a chance to be the last team standing when the 2026 season comes to an end.
That's the goal for a Rams team that was a play or two away from representing the NFC in the Super Bowl this past season. Los Angeles feels like it is on the cusp of glory, and why shouldn't they feel that way?
The Rams have one of the best head coach-quarterback duos in the league in Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford. That duo has seen more success than not, and they have a great chance to reach that mountain top once again.
As long as Stafford and McVay are at the helm, the Rams will be competitive for a long time. However, how long they will be together is unclear, especially considering the future of Stafford. The former Georgia Bulldog will enter his age-38 season, and he's far closer to the end of his career than the beginning.
Because of the uncertainty of Stafford's future, the Rams are looking to find the signal caller of the future. One quarterback whom they could possibly take a stab at is former first-rounder, Minnesota Viking, J.J. McCarthy.
Although Minnesota drafted McCarthy to be their franchise quarterback, injuries plus poor play have caused the Vikings to possibly look elsewhere.
The Vikings signed Kyler Murray to a one-year deal, and if things work out there, he could be the team's long-term quarterback. That brings a ton of question marks to McCarthy's future, and that's where the Rams could come into play.
For starters, the Rams would have to trade for McCarthy. Los Angeles does not want to overpay for a player of that caliber, so they'd need to like what they see. If the Rams like what they're sending out for McCarthy, then a certain role and expectation would need to be established.
McCarthy has had an uneven start to his NFL career. He's only 23 years old with plenty of potential, but he's struggled to find his footing in the NFL when healthy.
However, things could start to trend for McCarthy with McVay guiding him. The former Michigan Wolverine is a perfect fit for McVay's offense due to his biggest strengths – timing, anticipation, and rhythm passing — which are exactly what his system demands.
On top of that, his play-action and mobility have a chance to take McVay's offense to another level. While Stafford is an elite quarterback, mobility is far from his strength.
As for why it wouldn't work, McCarthy has a long way to go in terms of being still raw mentally, inconsistent with the deep ball and touch, as well as being very inconsistent to start his career.
If the Rams are looking for a long-term project quarterback, McCarthy seems more like the guy. Sitting behind Stafford could do the Illinois native wonders for his game.