When Jaxson Dart went down for the season, the New York Giants were quick to bring in J.J. McCarthy to add to the QB room. And while some of that was due to a lack of faith in Jameis Winston, McCarthy hasn't exactly ignited a quarterback conundrum or pushed for Winston's job quite yet.
While Famous Jameis has been playing some solid football across the last two games, he has some obvious limitations. He's basically a statue who is unable to escape the pocket, so even though McCarthy isn't the starter, the Giants are getting creative in the ways they're trying to use his skill set.
Joe Schoen and John Harbaugh gave up a fifth-rounder for the kid, and so far, he hasn't let the fresh start go to waste. McCarthy saw the field for three plays against the Commanders, as they want to capitalize on the former top-10 pick's mobility. The Giants have been subbing him in on certain plays in lieu of Jameis, and ESPN's Jordan Raanan reported that this trend will continue going forward.
"The J.J. McCarthy package? It's not going anywhere," Raanan reported. "Giants head coach John Harbaugh said he views it as a change of pace. The Giants want to use McCarthy's legs on certain plays in lieu of Jameis Winston... The Giants think the package can work moving forward. Harbaugh said it's his job to get the most out of the players on the roster, and it would be negligent if he didn't try to do the same with McCarthy."
Dart's mobility was a big part of this offense before he went down, so it's nice to see this coaching staff acknowledge that and force the offense to change with him hurt. But this also means that even if J.J. McCarthy never gets the opportunity to start games this season, he'll still get to see the field.
Giants' J.J. McCarthy is replacing Jaxson Dart in a way that Jameis Winston can't
For starters, this is a testament to Harbaugh's ability to get creative with the personnel at his disposal, since rotating quarterbacks is typically frowned upon. But this isn't college football. They aren't splitting drives. This is just a situation where if it's third-and-1 in the red zone, you can dial up a designed QB run for J.J. McCarthy--and given the run game has struggled, that's a big development.
McCarthy had a tumultuous two years in Minnesota, to the point where Kevin O'Connell all but admitted he never wanted him. The team that drafted him lost faith in him too fast, and Big Blue creating the J.J. package is a sign they believe in him--which should be good for his confidence.
At this point, he has to eat some humble pie and prove he's willing to wait his turn to get on the field--and take advantage of the opportunities he's being given. Being used as a change-of-pace option to Winston is better than being a backup who never sees the field, and that should make it easier for Harbaugh and Matt Nagy to turn to him if/when Jameis struggles.
J.J. McCarthy is only 23 years old and won a national championship at Michigan. There is obviously a lot of meat left on this bone. The G-Men know it would be a disservice to his development not to get him on the field in some capacity, so he doesn't need to be a starter to make an impact in New York.
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