As the Minnesota Vikings complete their OTA practices over the past couple weeks, they still have mandatory mini-camp next week and one more round of OTAs the following week- we are beginning to get a little flavor for this year’s team and how it may differ from last year’s team.
Of course this is the time of year for a lot of throw-away lines from players (e.g. “I feel great”) and coaches (e.g. “we’re just trying to get better every day”) that all sound good but don’t really give you any sense of the dynamics of the team or changes compared to last year. But listening and watching closely, there are a few observations worth noting at this stage that may be revealing about this Vikings team and their season ahead.
Here are a few observations of OTAs that stood out to me so far.
Harrison Phillips is Fired Up
It’s one thing for a new player to be excited and optimistic about his new team (“I just want to help win championships”), or an existing player who recently signed a new contract, but it’s another thing when an older, multi-year veteran and captain displays enthusiasm he hasn’t in previous years and with details to back it up. That’s what Harrison Phillips did last week in his press conference.
Of course this is the season of optimism when every team is healthy with shiny new additions and seemingly can only be better than last year, but for a veteran like Phillips to come out with a previously unseen level of enthusiasm- and reasons to back it up- is noteworthy. Here are a few bullet points from his press conference:
Phillips had positive things to say about J.J. McCarthy, comparing his leadership style to Josh Allen, who he played with in Buffalo, earlier in his career when he was just getting used to the power of his role.
He was excited about all the new additions and credited the Vikings’ ownership for their commitment to building a championship team.
He was particularly excited about the additions to his D-line room in Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen and how that will allow them to send waves at an offense during a game with a deeper rotation and allow more variation and ways they can attack a particular offense.
He was excited about what they bring to the table, learning from their techniques, how their playstyle may result in different opportunities, and also how the Vikings’ new strength coach had a new program designed around promoting quickness rather than simply bulking up for more power.
Lastly, he said this is the farthest along the team has been at this time of year since he’s been with the Vikings. He attributes that to the continuity of core players (and coaching staff) and that compared to previous years when they used OTAs to build the foundation, this year it has already largely been built so they were able to make more progress and build from that existing foundation right from the start.
J.J. McCarthy Going About It the Right Way
Now that J.J. McCarthy is QB1 and the presumptive starter, it’s normal for the hype train to really get rolling powered by pundits and fan boys. And we’re seeing that on social media. But in terms of on-field performance, apart from some highlight plays in limited practice sessions in shorts (which is near meaningless in terms of projecting to real game performance) there really isn’t much to point to, one way or another. This is the reality for every rookie or in this case second-year quarterback who has yet to play a snap in the NFL.
What can be said about J.J. McCarthy’s development, and this goes back to last year as well, is that he is going about it the right way- and this is echoed by his teammates and coaches.
McCarthy has always been ready and willing to put in the work. Last year between OTAs and training camp, when many players take a break or go on vacation, McCarthy was at the Vikings’ facility continuing to work so he would be more prepared and ready for training camp. Not every rookie quarterback does that.
This off-season, McCarthy has continued to put in the work and outlined his practice routine of practice, followed by a film review of his practice after it's over, then a more detailed review in the evening, then coaching off of that the next morning. And as a leader and presumptive starter at quarterback, McCarthy has made a point to reach out to each player in the locker room and begin building those relationships. His approach seems to be well received among his teammates and inspires optimism.
What is also apparent from Kevin O’Connell and beat reporters watching OTAs is that the Vikings are not taking it slow with McCarthy. O’Connell said they were using most of their offense in practices, rather than a more limited sub-set that is sometimes the case with young or new quarterbacks, and beat writer Kevin Seifert said while the intensity of practices varies, from day to day and even drill to drill, there have been some intense periods where both offense and defense are going as full-bore as possible without pads and like previous years, Brian Flores is not holding anything back from his defense scheme.
O’Connell has previously taken the approach of throwing a lot at the team in early practices to see how much everybody retains. Regarding McCarthy he said he and QB coach Josh McCown have taken the approach of assuming nothing with McCarthy as in the past they’ve often been surprised by what he retained after only covering it once last year in mid-season, while in other cases something they assumed he knew was not the case.
But overall, what the Vikings are doing with McCarthy at this point in the off-season program doesn’t seem any different than what they did with veteran Sam Darnold last year, which indicates confidence in McCarthy’s progress and ability to handle a firehose coming at him in terms of plays and defensive schemes, etc. Harrison Smith praised McCarthy earlier this offseason for, “being a little smarter beyond his years” which is a positive comment on his development from the other side of the ball.
A few accounts by beat reporters who have watched the practices indicate McCarthy having better and worse days as expected, and McCarthy himself has said they aren’t where they want to be but are confident they can get there when they need to be there. McCarthy doesn’t seem to be phased by mistakes either. He said at his press conference at OTAs that trying to be perfect all the time can be more harmful than the imperfections, which is the right mentality especially for this time of year.
Overall, it seems like more unqualified optimism about McCarthy coming from players and coaches, rather than the qualified variety (e.g. he’s doing well but still has a steep learning curve...). McCarthy still has everything to prove when it comes to playing in a regular season game in the NFL, but at this point I don’t detect a lot of worry about his trajectory. Maybe some of that will come in training camp or preseason, but at this point whatever his shortcomings have been in practice, they haven’t drawn a lot of criticism or worry.
A Few Other Minor Observations
The Vikings had nearly 100% participation in OTAs. New CB Isaiah Rodgers missed the first few days of OTAs but has been there since, but no big absences.
All the injured Vikings’ players are on-track to be full-go by training camp. Guys like Will Fries and even Mekhi Blackmon are not full-go for OTAs- Fries hasn’t participated other than the weight room, but Kevin O’Connell said he may get some limited action in practices before training camp and in any case he’ll be ready for training camp. Rondale Moore has been rehabbing from his knee injury so far in OTAs as well.
Josh Metellus appears to be something of a hold-in, as he’s been reported as only going 50% in practices as he awaits a new contract. There have been on-going discussions between Metellus’ camp and the Vikings, but so far no agreement on terms.
Last year’s WR3 Jalen Nailor, who now wears the #1 jersey, has added weight and strength to his frame this off-season and by all accounts is noticeably and almost unrecognizably bigger. Nailor will have plenty of competition to keep his spot on the wide receiver depth chart this season, and apparently bulking up a bit is one way he and presumably coaches think will help his game.
Justin Jefferson looks more established in his leadership role with the team, and acknowledges his “influence” with the team. He made that comment during his press conference last week and just seemed more confident in his own leadership ability. He said previously he didn’t know how well he could be a vocal leader but now he knows he can do it. This is the first time in three seasons Jets has participated in OTAs, presumably in part because he needs the extra time with J.J. McCarthy, but also because now he has been paid. OTAs may be voluntary, but as a captain and highest paid player on the team, expectations are a little higher. Kevin O’Connell said he’s talked at some length with Jefferson about his role with the team, as a captain and star player, and what his presence and energy means to the team. Jefferson seemed happy to be at OTAs and didn’t hesitate about participating this year.
I’ll have some more observations after mini-camp next week, but so far things seem to be going well as the Vikings work through phase two of their off-season program.