The Minnesota Vikings have completed the first day of rookie minicamp and we got to see quarterback J.J. McCarthy with a Vikings jersey and helmet for the first time.
Rookie minicamp as a whole is about getting players comfortable in their first practice in the National Football League. Teams will then use that to continue growth with their players, including McCarthy, who talked about things being simple during his first practice.
"I would say it was simple because it didn't feel like my first day. I've been going over the offense for a long time now. So being able to go out there and actually perform and execute it, that's new. But it was nothing that was overwhelming or too much."
There were some interesting takeaways from day one of rookie minicamp.
Vikings rookie minicamp takeaways
Josh McCown is making waves
There is a growing trend of former players becoming coaches and the Vikings have two former NFL quarterbacks on their staff in head coach Kevin O'Connell and Josh McCown. The benefit of having former players is they can share in-game experiences. One of those drills had a lesson from McCown about throwing an eight-yard stop route, which The Athletic's Alec Lewis shared brilliantly.
McCown outlined the drill for McCarthy, and while he relayed what the thought process should be, he told a quick story. Almost a decade ago, McCown played quarterback for the Cleveland Browns against the Denver Broncos. The Browns called a play that asked McCown to fire a pass from the left hash to the right sideline on a stop route.
He scanned the field from the shotgun, received the snap, focused his eyes down the middle of the field, turned to his right and flung a pass toward his receiver. Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib read him perfectly, stepped in front of the pass, picked it off and returned it 63 yards for a touchdown.
These are the types of experiences that will massively help McCarthy's development.
McCarthy's arm talent showed out
Some analysts had questions about McCarthy's arm talent. Well, it's obvious that he had it from the start and proved it at the NFL Scouting Combine with a 61 mph throw, which is the second-highest in NFL history.
9️⃣ @jjmccarthy09 pic.twitter.com/4YlnFmdkIF
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) May 11, 2024
The arm talent pops and the highlights prove it. Time to relax.
Every interception is a lesson
O'Connell had a nice joke for the media at the beginning of his press conference on Friday.
“I know some folks may be keeping track of completions and interceptions and things like that,” O'Connell joked.
He's right. Some think interceptions are bad, but in reality, there are a great tool during practice. You learn from them and can grow from each instance.
"When an interception happens, you guys have heard me say it before, it’s never – no interception ever has the same story. You know, there could have been too wide of alignment by that player he threw it to the start, and then so all we did was take away our angle to make the throw before the ball was ever snapped. It might have been a footwork thing; it might have been a total understanding of the full progression. So, he'll see it on tape. ‘Hey, here was my answer.’ It might not have been really exciting to chuck the ball down. Especially in the 7-on-7 environment. These guys tend to, when they're not feeling the rush, they tend to be a little more aggressive with their arms, and I like that – trial and error – and we move on to the next rep."
McCarthy did just that on Friday afternoon throwing an interception to linebacker K.J. Cloyd thinking he could make the throw.
“I felt like I could fit it in,” McCarthy said, “but these guys are a lot faster. Which is great to learn before the vets get here.”
A perfect example of a learning opportunity.
Dallas Turner has praise for Brian Flores
When you get a rookie coming in and speaking highly of your process by comparing it to a Nick Saban team, it's a big deal.
"It’s actually crazy because in the first defensive meeting coach Flores [Brian Flores] orchestrated it with the same rules, regulations, and day one base stuff that was the same in college. One team, one defense, all about the ball, all about tackling and being physical and playing fast. It’s a lot of the same stuff I was used to in college so there’s a very good resemblance between the two."
We know that Flores is one of the best defensive minds in the NFL and it makes sense why his organization and structure was compared to that of Saban. They both come from the Bill Belichick tree. Saban was Belichick's defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns in the early 1990s. That kind of transition in terms of structure will be a benefit for Turner moving forward.
