Donovan McNabb may have a long résumé and plenty of quarterback wisdom, but his read on J.J. McCarthy doesn’t line up with what the Giants rookie has actually shown so far.
During a recent appearance on Up & Adams, McNabb questioned whether McCarthy could keep producing once defenses “stop the run and start blitzing him.” That’s a fair idea in the abstract. The problem is that McCarthy has already dealt with both of those issues in New York, even if the sample is still tiny.
The Giants haven’t exactly handed him a comfortable environment. In his relief performance against the New Orleans Saints, no New York running back got to 20 rushing yards. McCarthy and Darnell Mooney each picked up yardage on a scramble and an end-around, and while the biggest numbers came in garbage time, McCarthy still gave the Giants a shot to push the game to overtime in the closing seconds.
His first start for Big Blue came against a Houston Texans pass rush that brought heat plenty often. McCarthy saw a 35.5 percent blitz rate, compared with a season average of 31.7 percent, and he responded with what was arguably his best outing as a pro and a road upset win.
Through Week 8 of 2026, excluding the Chicago Bears-Seattle Seahawks Monday Night Football game, McCarthy has been efficient when pressured. Among 37 quarterbacks with at least 20 pressured dropbacks this season, he sits at or near the top in several key categories.
If there’s a real critique to be made, it’s that McCarthy can still get better at avoiding negative plays when elite athletes are bearing down on him. That’s a tough ask for any young quarterback, and his 20 percent pressure-to-sack rate ranks 25th under the same statistical filter.
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