J.J. McCarthy Fantasy Football Outlook: Would a Week 7 Start Make Him Worth Adding?

The New York Giants are being rumored to name JJ McCarthy their starting quarterback. Though head coach John Harbaugh is reluctant to name a starter as of Monday afternoon, we must consider the possibility that McCarthy will start under center in Week 7. As fantasy analysts, it is our job. Here's what to expect from a McCarthy-led Giants offense.

Fantasy Football Impact

The Giants were trailing the Saints 34-10 when they benched Jameis Winston for JJ McCarthy. A desperate, low-leverage move, it actually panned out quite well.

Despite ultimately falling short, McCarthy drove the Giants back to a one-score game with less than two minutes to go. He finished with 11 completions on 21 passing attempts, 243 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. McCarthy added another two scrambles for 26 rushing yards.

McCarthy has had quite the career so far. The Vikings drafted him 10th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, but he played almost no football as a rookie while Sam Darnold balled out, which led to his current contract with the Seahawks.

In 2025, the Vikings made McCarthy their starter. In 10 games, McCarthy averaged 163 passing yards with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. McCarthy added another 3.7 rushing attempts and 18 rushing yards per game, with 4 touchdowns and 6 fumbles. He averaged 12.5 fantasy points per game.

The statistical output was quite bad by NFL standards. PFF graded McCarthy 35th out of 43 qualified quarterbacks in Passing Grade. The Vikings went on to sign Kyler Murray this past offseason; then they named Carson Wentz the backup and traded McCarthy to the Giants shortly after Jaxson Dart went out for the season.

JJ McCarthy Teams Up with John Harbaugh and Matt Nagy

The scheme Nagy runs is a West Coast offense. He tries to spread the ball around in many low-risk scenarios. The passes are short but effective. When throwing downfield, McCarthy also has the advantage of having two elite playmakers: Malik Nabers and Isaiah Likely.

McCarthy will also have some pleasant rushing upside as Nagy's offense incorporates run-pass options. We can expect McCarthy to be a fringe top-10 rusher at quarterback for fantasy football.

Nagy should become an average coach for McCarthy. Nagy's history features two very different outcomes. For one, he coached Pat Mahomes as the Chiefs' offensive coordinator in his rookie season. Nagy then became the Bears' head coach, coaching up Mitchell Trubisky, who was mobile but very up-and-down in his field presence. Trubisky's career has led to him being labeled a career backup, serving as Josh Allen's backup in Buffalo

I cannot imagine this is a bad situation for McCarthy, relatively speaking. It can be argued that his 2025 inaccuracies stemmed from his 3rd-highest ranking in Average Depth of Target. Kevin O'Connell used a lot more play-action and vertical passing. The spread offense should remind McCarthy more of his days at Michigan, running a run-heavy RPO-style offense with Blake Corum and Roman Wilson as his primary targets.

JJ McCarthy vs. Jameis Winston

As for the Giants' offense itself, McCarthy adds more upside. He is much more mobile than Winston. As much as McCarthy turned the ball over in 2025, Winston provided the same problem, throwing five interceptions in as many games this season.

Not to mention, the last time Winston started double-digit games in a season, he threw more interceptions than games played, and in 2019, he threw a mind-boggling 30 interceptions.

Winston's PFF Passing Grade this season is 51.9, ranking 30th out of 35 qualified quarterbacks. It would be impressive if McCarthy were any worse. Starting McCarthy in Week 7 as expected is the right move for the Giants.

Can You Pick Up McCarthy in Fantasy Football?

The answer is: no. McCarthy carries a lot of risk. He hasn't shown any good NFL football, including during that Week 6 comeback, when he threw an interception almost immediately and was only 53% accurate. The Giants are also viewed as one of the NFL's worst offenses.

ESPN FPI currently rates two teams tied for the worst offense in the NFL. That is both the Giants and the Eagles, 5.1 points worse than the NFL's average offense per game.

This season, the Giants rank 15th in Pass Rate at 58.0%. Unlike some other teams, McCarthy will not have that high pass-rate benefit of, say, 40+ attempts per game. He will have to be efficient and find the end zone, something that you absolutely cannot expect right off the bat.

Nonetheless, McCarthy is intriguing and could start the rest of the season. If you play in a SuperFlex league, McCarthy is a more intriguing high-upside option. His ceiling is not much higher than QB16-ish in fantasy football, while his floor is dead last: QB32.

Our Week 7 Projections Go Live on Wednesday Afternoon.

More Fantasy Sports On SI News: