ESPN NFL Insider Rips Giants Over J.J. McCarthy Trade

ESPN NFL reporter Dan Graziano delivered a blunt assessment Tuesday of the New York Giants’ latest quarterback move, saying he hated the team’s decision to acquire J.J. McCarthy from the Minnesota Vikings.

“I hate it. I think it’s a terrible idea for the Giants,” Graziano said during an appearance on ESPN’s “Get Up.”

The comment came one day after the Giants sent a 2027 fifth-round draft pick to Minnesota for McCarthy, a former first-round selection who had fallen to third on the Vikings’ depth chart.

New York made the deal after second-year starter Jaxson Dart suffered a season-ending left knee injury in Week 2. Dart required surgery to address damage to his meniscus, MCL and PCL.

Veteran Jameis Winston started Sunday and led the Giants to a 12-7 victory over the Tennessee Titans. Winston completed 14 of 22 passes for 118 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in wet conditions.

Giants coach John Harbaugh has said Winston will remain the starter even after the addition of another quarterback. Harbaugh also said the team had been searching for help at the position since Dart went down.

McCarthy, 23, was the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft out of Michigan, where he won a national championship under Jim Harbaugh, the current Chargers coach and brother of the Giants’ head coach.

He missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury. In 2025 he started 10 games, completing 57.6 percent of his passes for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He went 6-4 as a starter.

A graphic shown on “Get Up” listed McCarthy among first-round quarterbacks with the fewest starts for their drafting teams over the past 20 years. Paxton Lynch and Trey Lance each started four games, Johnny Manziel started eight and McCarthy started 10.

Minnesota signed Kyler Murray in the offseason and kept Carson Wentz, leaving McCarthy expendable. The Vikings received only a future mid-round pick for a player they had selected in the top 10 two years earlier.

The Giants entered Tuesday’s news cycle at 2-1 and tied with the Philadelphia Eagles atop the NFC East. Their offense has been limited without Dart, ranking near the bottom of the league in passing yards per game.

Some Giants fans quickly pushed back against Graziano’s take on social media. One poster wrote that Dart remains the franchise quarterback and that McCarthy was brought in to compete or serve as a backup. Another called the analysis a “beta take” and said having two young quarterbacks should not be viewed as a problem.

The trade pending McCarthy passing a physical gives New York another young option under contract alongside Dart and Winston heading into 2027. Whether McCarthy develops into more than a low-cost insurance policy will determine if Graziano’s criticism holds up.

Harbaugh described the deal as an opportunity that presented itself after the team turned over every stone looking for quarterback help.

McCarthy’s limited NFL sample includes flashes of big-time throws mixed with accuracy issues and injuries. His 7.3% big-time throw rate ranked among the league’s best among qualified passers last season, according to Pro Football Focus, but his turnover-worthy play rate was among the worst.

The Giants next play the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Winston is expected to start again while McCarthy learns the offense.