Everything we are watching for during Vikings OTAs/minicamp

The Vikings get on the practice field this week, what should we expect to see?

Photo courtesy Minnesota Vikings

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By Matthew Coller

Oh, that time has arrived again for the Minnesota Vikings’ offseason program to kick into full gear with OTAs and minicamp. What will we be looking for during media access to those practices? Let’s have a look…

JJ McCarthy’s comfort running the first-team offense

Every single OTA/minicamp practice report is going to come along with this PSA: We are a long, long way from Week 1 so we can’t use every practice that is open to the media as a referendum on how good JJ McCarthy and the offense are going to be this year. They call it the “learning phase” for a reason. We should not treat these practices like training camp. Thank you.

However, this will be the first time we get a look at McCarthy running the first team offense so it does come along with intrigue. Last year in camp McCarthy was behind Sam Darnold all spring and summer, which meant rarely getting an opportunity to throw to Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and TJ Hockenson.

The actual attempts and completions in 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s in OTAs/minicamp won’t matter as much as how the offense feels with McCarthy under center. With Darnold running the show last spring we did get some early hints that things could go better than expected because he looked very comfortable with his receivers and where he was supposed to throw the ball on each play.

There has to be some leeway for McCarthy shaking off the rust when it comes to throwing the ball but because he has been learning this offseason since last May, he should have a good understanding of the way things are supposed to operate. How will all of McCarthy’s off-field learning translate to the early practices?

If anything, OTAs/minicamp give us a starting point for training camp so we can see how far they have to go in order to be ready for Week 1. If McCarthy looks like he is totally locked in by the last minicamp practice in mid-June, then we should expect things to hit the ground running in July. If there are a lot of bumps along the way, the process might take more time when camp arrives.

You might be wondering: If we can’t decide whether McCarthy is a Pro Bowler or not during OTAs, then when will we know? Well, the Vikings are going to be holding joint practices again this year during training camp. Those have always been illuminating. We should have a sense by then if the offense is functioning the way it needs to go or not. Patience, everybody.

Who’s QB2?

After the Vikings acquired Sam Howell on draft day, the assumption was that they found their backup quarterback, end of story. That might be true but the number of times that Brett Rypien has been praised by Kevin O’Connell at least raises the possibility that there could be a real competition between the two. While Howell has a full seasons as a starter, Rypien has been in the NFL since 2020 and won two of his career four starts.

Howell is certainly the favorite since he has a very strong arm and had a 2023 mid-season run from Week 4 through Week 10 with Washington where he averaged 301 yards passing per game, threw 14 touchdowns to four INTs and ran for 132 yards. Of course, he followed that up with four TDs for the rest of the season to 12 INTs and went 0-7. That type of up-and-down performance tends to define backup QBs, so the Vikings will be looking for which backup is the most consistent in operating the offense. The major concern for Howell is that he took so many sacks as a starter, leading the league with 65. If he isn’t getting rid of the ball quickly in practice, we might have ourselves a competition.

What does the depth receiver battle look like?

There will be a lot of wide receivers on the field during the spring workouts. If I’m counting correctly, 13 fellas are currently on the 90-man roster. Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor and Tai Felton are locks to make it. Who does that leave for the final spot or two or three?

If Rondale Moore isn’t ready to go yet for OTAs as he recovers from a brutal knee injury last year, then the list is: Tim Jones, Lucky Jackson, Thayer Thomas, Jeshaun Jones, Silas Bolden, Myles Price, Robert Lewis, Dontae Fleming.

We should expect the receivers who have been with KOC to look the best in the “learning phase.” That would be Jackson, Thomas and Jeshaun Jones. We have seen Jackson and Thomas both hang around on the practice squad for multiple seasons, which makes you wonder if this is their best chance or just their last chance to make it.

Over the years a number of UDFAs have made good OTA/minicamp impressions because there are no pads and no physical play allowed from the defensive backs. The most intriguing of the three is Bolden, an extremely undersized speedster (sub-4.4 at his pro day) who had a punt return for touchdown in the college playoff against Arizona State. The Vikings have an open punt returning job that he will likely get a shot at winning.

I shouldn’t forget to mention the tight ends behind TJ Hockenson and Josh Oliver either. Gavin Bartholomew, Bryson Nesbit and Ben Yurosek will be looking to make a first impression as pass catchers.

Injury updates

KOC has said that Christian Darrisaw is doing well in his recovery but couldn’t give an exact timeline. We’ll see if there are any more details in his updates during the next few weeks. The other players coming into camp recovering from injuries include Will Fries, Rondale Moore and Mekhi Blackmon.

What does our first glimpse at the front seven look like?