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Adam Thielen gets candid about the ‘best thing’ J.J. McCarthy can do for Giants

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Battifarano, A. (2026, October 22). Adam Thielen gets candid about the ‘best thing’ J.J. McCarthy can do for Giants. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/21/sports/adam-thielen-the-best-thing-j-j-mccarthy-can-do-for-giants/

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New York Post · collected 2026-10-22 · by Andrew Battifarano

Quick Summary

Adam Thielen, a former teammate of J.J. McCarthy from his time at Minnesota, speaks highly of McCarthy's potential impact on the New York Giants' offense. Thielen highlights McCarthy's strong deep ball as particularly impressive and suggests that developing finesse could further enhance his game. The quarterback is set to make his first start for the Giants against the Texans this Sunday, following limited but promising action in a recent loss to the Saints where he completed 11 of 21 passes for 243 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Written by AI on 2026-10-22, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Adam Thielen, a former teammate of J.J. McCarthy from his time at Minnesota, has expressed excitement about McCarthy's upcoming debut as starting quarterback for the New York Giants on Sunday against the Houston Texans. Thielen, who is now retired and a two-time Pro Bowler, highlighted McCarthy’s ability to throw deep passes, describing it as "incredible." However, Thielen also suggested that developing more finesse in his throwing technique would be beneficial for McCarthy's performance with the Giants. McCarthy will replace Jameis Winston, who had been starting due to an injury to Jaxson Dart.

Written for “Adam Thielen On J.j. McCarthy” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Adam Thielen On J.j. McCarthy
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Fox News
Hedges 4 of 36 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A describes JJ McCarthy leading the Giants on Sunday while Cam Skattebo was benched, whereas Article B discusses Adam Thielen's opinion about McCarthy's upcoming first start for the Giants against the Texans.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 20 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of J.J. McCarthy becoming the starting quarterback for the Giants but do not describe the same specific incident.”
New York Post
Hedges 3 of 30 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects and contexts related to J.J. McCarthy's role as a quarterback for the Giants, but do not describe the same specific incident or occurrence.”
New York Post
Hedges 5 of 45 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects related to J.J. McCarthy's upcoming start for the Giants but do not describe the same specific incident or occurrence.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 12 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses Adam Thielen's comments about J.J. McCarthy before his first start, while Article B covers McCarthy's wife's reaction after his first win in that start.”
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 29 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss J.J. McCarthy's transition to starting quarterback for the Giants, they do not describe the exact same specific incident or occurrence.”
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 18 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss J.J. McCarthy starting for the Giants against the Texans, Article A reports on the decision itself and its immediate context, while Article B features a reaction from Adam Thielen about McCarthy's potential impact.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 12 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe related developments regarding J.J. McCarthy becoming the starting quarterback for the Giants, but they are not reporting on the exact same moment or occurrence.”
New York Post
Hedges 3 of 37 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss J.J. McCarthy's upcoming start for the Giants and the impact on their playbook, they focus on different aspects of the situation involving different stakeholders (Adam Thielen in Article A and Matt Nagy in Article B).”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 6 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different stages or aspects related to the decision about who will be the starting quarterback for the Giants, but do not describe the same specific incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
30
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 30 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-22 · how these are computed

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Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 16741 article(s) · 36 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 36 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Andrew Battifarano
49 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Topics

Big Blue Giants Michigan Minnesota Sports+

Subjects

Giants ORG · 7× McCarthy PERSON · 6× Thielen PERSON · 4× Michigan GPE · 2× Minnesota GPE · 2× Adam Thielen PERSON · 1× Big Blue ORG · 1× J.J. McCarthy’s PERSON · 1× Paul Schwartz PERSON · 1× Sports+ ORG · 1×

Narrative

tRY IT NOWMcCarthy will make his first start for the Giants on Sunday against the Texans, officially taking things over from Jameis Winston, who had been starting in place of the injured Jaxson Dart.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-22
🔮 tRY IT NOWMcCarthy will make his first start for the Giants on Sunday against the Texans, officially taking things over from Jameis Winston, who had been starting in place of the injured Jaxson Dart.

Claims (30 extracted, 0 hedged)

In fact, Adam Thielen thinks the signal-caller brings something “incredible” to the table that can help Big Blue. asserted
that → think → Blue
tRY IT NOWMcCarthy will make his first start for the Giants on Sunday against the Texans, officially taking things over from Jameis Winston, who had been starting in place of the injured Jaxson Dart. asserted
who → try → Dart
Thielen, a teammate of McCarthy’s in Minnesota last season, said on SiriusXM this week that the Michigan product has a great deep ball that should help the Giants’ offense. asserted
that → say → offense
But developing more finesse would go a long way, Thielen added. asserted
Thielen → develop → finesse
“Honestly, I think the best thing he does is the deep ball. asserted
he → think → ?
He throws the best deep ball that I’ve seen in a long time,” the retired two-time Pro Bowler said. asserted
Bowler → throw → time
“I mean, it is, it is, it is incredible. asserted
it → mean → ?
I think the big thing that — the big question when he was in Minnesota was like, can he throw the touch balls and the layered balls like — like you see [49ers quarterback] Brock Purdy throw? asserted
Purdy → think → balls
I mean, there’s so many examples in that game [Monday]. asserted
I → mean → game
I’m like, man, that if J.J. can develop some of that, like watch out because he’s got every other tool in his back pocket asserted
he → ’m → pocket
McCarthy saw his first extended Giants action in Sunday’s loss to the Saints, when he completed 11 of 21 passes for 243 yards with one touchdown and one interception. asserted
he → see → touchdown
He also rushed twice for 26 yards. asserted
He → rush → yards
While a comeback against New Orleans ultimately fell short, head coach John Harbaugh on Sunday commended McCarthy for what he did to keep the Giants in the game. asserted
he → fall → game
“He did a heck of a job given the circumstances and kind of desperation time,” Harbaugh said. asserted
Harbaugh → do → time
“It’s different than normal football, but made some plays and gives us a chance to win the game. asserted
It → ’ → game
We’re throwing the ball in the end zone at the end so that was good. asserted
that → throw → end
You have to compliment him on that.” asserted
You → have → that
Thielen spoke to McCarthy’s character and said teammates enjoy being around the quarterback and his genuine enthusiasm for the game. asserted
teammates → speak → game
“He’s a gamer. asserted
He → ’ → ?
Man, everyone loves him,” Thielen added. asserted
Thielen → love → him
“Like again, we kind of go back to how we started the show, is everyone loves him. asserted
everyone → go → him
Like on the sideline, they’re dapping him up, they’re saying, ‘Man, thanks for the effort.’ asserted
they → dap → effort
‘Cause everyone loves him. asserted
everyone → love → him
Everyone loves being around him. asserted
Everyone → love → him
They love his energy, and his attitude, and his mindset. asserted
They → love → energy
can’t — you can’t teach that. asserted
you → teach → that
And so, if we can develop some of this and kind of rein it in and put the right offense around him, I think it’s gonna be really fun to watch.” asserted
it → develop → him
McCarthy, a 2023 national champ with Michigan, will match up this weekend against a familiar rival in CJ Stroud, who was a two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year with Ohio State. asserted
who → match → State
McCarthy, with three touchdown passes, beat Stroud’s Buckeyes during a 2022 meeting in Columbus. asserted
McCarthy → beat → Columbus
Sunday will mark the first time they’ll do battle against each other as pros. asserted
they → mark → pros
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