Report: Minnesota Vikings Rookie QB J.J. McCarthy Gets Blunt Update After Mandatory Minicamp

A new report offered a blunt assessment of Minnesota Vikings rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy as mandatory minicamp this week. The Vikings have an unusual schedule this offseason, where they will hold three voluntary practices for OTAs next week after mandatory minicamp this week.

J.J. McCarthy has accuracy issues

All eyes on the Vikings fanbase are on McCarthy. As previously discussed on GH, McCarthy is lagging behind Sam Darnold in OTAs. The Vikings are expected to start Darnold in Week 1. The Vikings have a “growth mindset” for McCarthy’s progression. To begin mandatory minicamp, McCarthy struggled with accuracy:

McCarthy must also master the red zone drill. As many analysts have pointed out, the red zone was McCarthy’s weak spot at Michigan. Per Kevin Seifert with ESPN, McCarthy struggled during the Vikings’ red zone drill on Wednesday:

“There are no indications that the Vikings were looking to test McCarthy in a “1’s vs. 1’s” situation this spring. McCarthy’s throws have plenty of juice but have not always been accurate. During a red-zone drill Wednesday, he had three consecutive passes hit the ground.”

The Minnesota Vikings will need to be patient

Alex Lewis with The Athletic gave greater detail about how some of those passes looked:

McCarthy missed some passes over the first two days. He grounded one to fullback C.J. Ham in the flat. He hummed a throw over the middle Wednesday that safety Theo Jackson lunged and tipped.

McCarthy looked better on Thursday

McCarthy had a rough start to the week, but he held in there for Day 3. Per Lewis, McCarthy had his best day of minicamp on Thursday. However, McCarthy did show a mix of emotions as he threw passes that reporters would rather not tally up:

Thursday, though, McCarthy looked much better. He lasered one over the middle to tight end Robert Tonyan. He feathered a completion to receiver Trent Sherfield on the far right sideline. Tracking passes feels like a fruitless exercise right now — so many variables factor into these throws, and all a basic stat line does is falsely sway the narrative — but Thursday was easily the rookie’s most efficient day.

This isn’t surprising. McCarthy is practicing new concepts and throwing to new receivers. He is using different footwork. Defenders are moving across his line of vision faster than he has ever experienced. Inconsistency should be the expectation. And the frustrated McCarthy clapped at himself after some throws. After good ones, he high-fived fellow quarterbacks Sam Darnold, Nick Mullensand Jaren Hall and patted the helmets of receivers.

McCarthy will hopefully adjust to the speed of the game in training camp. It’s clear McCarthy isn’t feeling comfortable with the league’s speed in OTAs, which isn’t abnormal for a rookie quarterback. Fortunately for McCarthy, he has time to adjust. Unlike the Chicago Bears with Caleb Williams, the Vikings have a veteran quarterback ready to start while McCarthy builds confidence on the sideline.