Vikings camp journal: Day 1

JJ McCarthy and KOC talked and the Vikings kicked off Training Camp 2025

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By Matthew Coller

EAGAN — The Minnesota Vikings were relegated to holding their first training camp practice indoors on Wednesday afternoon. Here’s a recap of the day’s events…

What I heard

Before the team took the field, Kevin O’Connell and JJ McCarthy talked at the podium.

— O’Connell started out the presser in true camp form by talking about the TE3 battle. He said that he does not yet have an update on the health of sixth-round pick Gavin Bartholomew but hopes to know in the “next week or so. “

— Everyone is waiting on an announcement from the NFL about a suspension for Jordan Addison after he took a plea deal that settled his DUI case from last summer. One of the things Addison’s side is likely hoping will play in their favor is the fact that he has remained on the straight and narrow over the last 12 months.

If Addison’s off-field behavior hadn’t been a subject this offseason, we would have been talking about the next step for his game. After two strong seasons to start his career, O’Connell still sees room for another level to be reached.

“He's come back in great shape, great weight, and truly taking his understanding of route running, not only route running at the top of routes, which everybody knows he's always been a world-class separator, but now he's really starting to learn the nuances,” O’Connell said. “We talked about getting off press and the physicality, but these corners are good. They're really strong. We've got some really good ones here that are giving them some good looks. He's getting to work his craft and understand, I'm on the ball, I'm off the ball, I'm in a bunch, I'm in a stack, and how those differ. Maybe I'm doing things off motions. He's getting so comfortable in our system.”

— One of camp’s most interesting players is second-year OLB Dallas Turner. The change in his physique from the end of last year to Day 1 of camp is noticeable.

“He came back from the jump in the off-season program, just his body, the shape he was in just looks so strong,” O’Connell said. “I think he's gained a lot of strength.”

Where does Turner fit in though? With Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel both turning in star performances in 2024, there doesn’t seem to be a clear-cut job for him. Apparently they like it that way.

“We've got three starters, we really feel like that,” O’Connell said. “That's a testament to the work Dallas has put in, and he's going to get a lot of opportunities, different personnel groupings.”

What do the “different” groupings look like? We did not get a sense for that on Day 1 but it’s possible that it suggests getting AVG, Greenard and Turner on the field together often with either Van Ginkel or Turner playing inside linebacker or rushing from the interior.

— The running back position came up in KOC’s conversation with the media. What the fantasy football world is trying to figure out is the carry split between Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason. We won’t get any real indication of that during camp because the Vikings will take it slow ramping up Jones. O’Connell painted it much more like a RB1/RB1A than a starter/backup situation.

“Aaron Jones can run in between the tackles, he can catch the ball, he can block in protection, he can line up anywhere in the formation,” O’Connell said. “Jordan Mason has proven already to be well ahead of new players in the system from a protection standpoint. And clearly, he's got the body type to be a physical presence. So, I really see those guys playing off of each other, where we can keep them both fresh, keep them both in attack mode when they're in there.”

As far as RB3, O’Connell gave an example that demonstrated why we haven’t seen more from Ty Chandler in the past. He said there was a play where Chandler had a solid run and then protection issues on the following down when they went up tempo.

“My hope is that in a year where he's had a lot of experience, he's coming into a critical year for himself, where we're going to rely on him. Can we see just consistent play across all phases?” O’Connell said.

— At this point, there isn’t a lot left to ask JJ McCarthy. Everybody just needs to see him get out there and practice. However, he did talk about his quick bond with center Ryan Kelly.

“Both on the field and off the field. He's been amazing. One of the most favorite teammates I've ever had, just his knowledge about the game but who he is as a man,” McCarthy said. “It's really one of a kind, the depth of knowledge, how he attacks every single day, how he is as a dad, all the things that I get to learn from him on and off the field. It's a tremendous blessing.”

Kelly might not have been the flashiest acquisition of the offseason but he could be the most important considering his role in guiding McCarthy.

O’Connell’s emphasis on “situational football” came up on Monday. McCarthy was asked about how he views

“I would say [situational football] is the way you play the position as a quarterback,” McCarthy said. “You have to know the situation in every single play of the game, understand the defense just got off the field are we really trying to take a shot here or are we really trying to move the sticks and just keep the possession going? Really take in a multitude of factors within each drive, but I feel like that's just the number one thing with the quarterback is handling the situations and making the right decisions and ultimately that leads to the most probability of winning football games.”

When we talk about the “cheat codes” that quarterbacks have, that conversation starts with arm, speed, size but situational understanding can be just as valuable. It’s something we will start to see more in camp when they start to practice red zone and 2-minute drills. McCarthy was a “situational master” in college en route to a national championship and showed comfort in those spots during camp last year. Now he’ll have to do it with the first team.

After practice, Josh Metellus, Blake Cashman, Tai Felton, TJ Hockenson and Jordan Addison chatted with the local media contingent. Some highlights…

— Metellus was a full participant amidst contract negotiations. He was playing the majority of snaps alongside Harrison Smith in Cam Bynum’s previous spot.

“Me and Cam are different players so I wouldn’t say a one-for-one switch but obviously safety is what I came into the league as and that’s always going to be my backbone so it’s easy for me to go back there and get comfortable,” Metellus said.

As it pertains to his contract, the veteran safety said:

“Leave that to the front office and agents,” Metellus said. “That’s their job to compare numbers and stuff. My job is just to go out there and play. If that has to be the case, I’ve been betting on myself since I got into this league so I’m not worried about going out here and having the best year of my life.”

That statement sounds like Metellus isn’t afraid to play out the season without a new deal. Still, both sides seem to want him to stay.

— Cashman is now playing behind quite a different defensive line than he had last season. I asked him how that might change things for him.

“I think it helps the defense overall, especially on first downs, because it creates some disruption with the quarterback,” Cashman said. “As a linebacker you love it. [Offensive linemen] have to hold onto those guys a little bit longer and that’s going to free us up to make plays and if offensive linemen have to give a quick chip or bump while climbing up to us, those guys are going to eat. It’s a win-win having talented guys like that.”

— Hockenson worked out with JJ McCarthy in Nashville over the summer. The two got to get to know each other on the field and off the field. Hockenson said that it was much, much better for him this year during the offseason being able to work out and get proper rest rather than rehabbing as he did last offseason. He also talked about what it’s like catching the football from McCarthy:

“He puts it in the spot it needs to be almost every time, there are times he will fit it in a tight window as you saw today at the end [of practice] but you know where it’s going to be,” Hockenson said. “It’s not dropping off the table. It’s zipping on you. It’s a fun ball to catch. In the past I’ve compared it to [Matthew Stafford]’s ball where it just gets on you.”

— Tai Felton chatted after practice about what he is expecting from his role:

“Definitely special teams, I feel that’s very important and I played in college and they see I can do that, whether it’s catching punt returns or catching kick returns or running down on gunner. At receiver, trying to learn as much as possible from inside and outside because that’s very important, if you can learn every position then they can put you anywhere.”

What I saw