Vikings have been excited about Brosmer for a long time, plus McCarthy clean-pocket film

Photo courtesy Minnesota Vikings

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By Matthew Coller

EAGAN — Alright, a mixed bag of stuff for you folks today. The Vikings coordinators talked and I took a look at JJ McCarthy’s throws on Sunday from a clean pocket. Let’s get into it…

Coordinator notes

The Vikings have been high on Max Brosmer for a long time

It’s unclear yet if Max Brosmer will be starting for the Vikings on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks but there is a real possibility that he takes the reins with JJ McCarthy entering concussion protocol on Monday.

The story of Brosmer landing with the Vikings actually starts with a pro day that wasn’t even his. In 2024, the Gophers needed a QB to throw for their pro day and Brosmer agreed to do it before tossing a single pass at Minnesota. The Vikings brass, who were in attendance that day, got to see him again at his own pro day in 2025.

“We go out there, support the gophers there and there’s this kid out there who’s slinging it,” offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said on Tuesday. “And there was kind of a leadership aspect that you could just feel out there with how he was kind of running the show with the routes. To be able to see him twice out there at those pro days for Minnesota, it was just kind of a sneak peek for us.”

When Brosmer signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent, it didn’t take him much time at all to impress the coaches again. Phillips said that they noticed his ability to see the field and make decisions quickly — sometimes even too quickly at the beginning.

“He’s got a quick release and he’s got a quick mind,” Phillips said. “The processing aspect of that position when you see a guy who almost at times was processing things too quickly at times through camp and preseason where, whereas there might be something there, but he’s able to get through it so fast that he might be a little bit ahead of the play, which is generally kind of the opposite with a young player. They’re [usually] a little behind it.”

After Brosmer made the 53-man roster, he was QB3 on the depth chart behind JJ McCarthy and Carson Wentz. But he did not approach it like he was a million miles from starting and when Wentz went out for the year, they elevated him to QB2.

“Max has approached it exactly like you would hope he would, always been prepared, knowing that he could be the next,” Phillips said. “Whatever role he’s been, he’s a football guy, he’s all about it, he’s going to grind, he’s going to ask questions…every snap that someone else has taken, he’s behind the huddle, reading the play out loud, going through kind of his sequence of where he would be looking, where he’d be throwing the football, all the things you want from a young player trying to prepare to play.”

If Brosmer does get his first NFL nod, it won’t be against an easy opponent. The Seahawks are No. 2 in the league in yards per pass attempt allowed and seventh in opposing QB rating. They also have the fourth most total sacks.

“It is a defense, not only [talented] at all levels, but very aggressive defense,” Phillips said. “I think Mike McDonald does some of the best in the league as far as understanding protection rules and attacking your protections.”

Helping McCarthy through adversity

It’s been a rough ride for the Vikings’ 10th overall pick in 2024 since he arrived in Minnesota. He suffered a knee injury that cost him his rookie season, then had an ankle injury that kept him out for five weeks, only to struggle upon his return to the point of ranking last in the NFL in QB rating. He’s also been sacked 20 times and taken many more hits.

Phillips was asked about what the coaching staff can do to guide him through challenging times.

“We’ll do what we can to help him through that. But a lot of just being a professional athlete is being able to handle the ups and downs and being mentally tough and being able to block out and not look at the outside comments, the social media, all the stuff,” Phillips said. “That’s something I’m very conscious of as a coach. I mean, There’s just going to be a lot of opinions out there, a lot of negativity, especially when you’re not winning as many games as you’d like. So you’ve got to put all that out of your head and focus on really what you can control.”

Phillips added that he feels McCarthy can pull through his rough stretch.

“Smart people who work hard and have talent are going to get better over time,” he said. “I believe that, and I think that’s where JJ, the path that he’s on.”

Brian Flores vs. Sam Darnold

While Sunday’s matchup will have nowhere near the amount of juice that we expected at the beginning of the season, it will still be fascinating to see Brian Flores and Sam Darnold face off. They had some epic battles in 2024 training camp and the Vikings DC said that he enjoyed his time around the former Viking QB.

“Sam’s one of my favorites,” Flores said. “He and I had a lot of great dialogue when he was here. I thought he grew tremendously when he was here just from a leadership standpoint.”

Flores has been impressed with what he has seen this year from Darnold, who ranks No. 1 in the NFL in yards per pass attempt and QB rating.

“He’s throwing the ball well,” Flores said. “He’s leading the teams, got command of the offense. He’s getting them in and out of plays….And I think he’s just, he’s being who he is.”

Flores joked that he still plans on blitzing Darnold.

That will be interesting because against the blitz this year, Darnold is averaging 10.3 yards per pass attempt and has only taken six sacks. However, he has thrown five of his 10 INTs against the blitz despite only facing extra rushers on 32% of his drop-backs.

The Vikings’ kicking/punting has been remarkable

Special teams have been the bane of Kevin O’Connell’s existence at times this year but you could argue that it could be much worse if the Vikings weren’t getting terrific performances from their kicker and punter.

Will Reichard is sixth in field-goal percentage (91.3%) but he leads the league with 50+ yard makes, going 8-for-10 and four of those have been from 59 or longer. That’s legitimately some of the best kicking in history.

It’s particularly impressive when you consider where he’s made some of his best kicks: At Soldier Field and Lambeau Field, two historically challenging outdoor venues.

“We were watching the tape on how great he’s been with this plant foot, not being too tight to the football,” special teams coordinator Matt Daniels said. “When you have a great plant and you’re really driving up and through the ball, a lot of the times you’re going to like the result of it. And Will has been really intentional about that. And as a result, you kind of, that’s what you get. You know, I think this guy is an All-Pro kicker in my mind.”

Punter Ryan Wright ranks sixth in the NFL in net punt average and he’s only had one touchback all year. In particular, his directional kicks have pinned opponents back inside their own territory on numerous occasions against the Lions, Ravens, Bears and Packers.

Daniels said that they have been putting focus on that area with the way in which he drops the ball from his hand and the direction he’s aiming.

“Mr. Wright is having really one of his best seasons of really from a directional standpoint hang distance matching which is really allowing those guys to eat on the outside and you know he continues to as long as he continues to do his job we’re going to end up lighting the result,” Daniels said. “I think the punt unit is doing a really good job of covering kicks this year and it has a lot to do with Mr. Wright, placing the ball where it needs to be.”

On the matter of Myles Price’s miscue that proved costly against Green Bay, Daniels said that the young punt returner was trying to be physical with the Packers’ gunner instead of getting out of the area.

It was the third major mistake in three weeks that has altered the direction of a game. He talked about an adjustment in his own thinking that he is making.

“I have to treat these rookies like rookies because that’s what they are,” Daniels said. “I have to make sure I’m keeping things very simple for these guys that allows them to play fast and less thinking, more reacting.”

OK let’s look at some tape…

As I was thinking about how to look at JJ McCarthy’s game on Sunday, I thought that it was probably unfair to him to study a bunch of the drop-backs where the offensive line collapsed. Not that he couldn’t have handled some of the plays better and avoided some hits/sacks but it was clear that once the Packers were up by multiple scores their pass rush took over.

So let’s have a look at some of the drop-backs where he didn’t have any pressure and see what we might be able to observe. Was it better than it looked? Or were there still a lot of concerning things on the tape?

We begin with a completion on the first drive. This is a simple play-action with only two receivers going downfield. The Packers bring the safety up into the box, leaving a single-high look, which is perfect for an in-breaking route from Justin Jefferson. He couldn’t be much more wide open when he hits the break, yet there is still a touch of hesitation from McCarthy on the throw. Jefferson slows up a little and then has to dive for the ball.

In Kurt Warner’s breakdown, he was suggesting even on a throw like this one to get the ball out earlier and with more touch on it. This touches on something that CBS Sports’ Mike Renner said on the Purple Insider podcast: That McCarthy isn’t seeing things on time and then is trying to whip the ball 100 mph into the window when he finally sees it. This particularly couldn’t have been more straight forward, yet he was still slightly late.

The next play is really rough. The Vikings run an inside screen for Aaron Jones on third down that looks like it can pick up a solid gain because there was only one Packer defender in the area at the time of the throw. But McCarthy, who is moving a bit to his right away from pressure, just misses him from about seven yards away.

Warner pointed out the amount of movement that was happening with McCarthy’s arm on a throw that short. He shouldn’t need to bring it all the way back like he’s going to throw it 20 yards. Plays like this are pretty concerning when we talk about how much more accurate he can get with development.

Next play has a muddy pocket but Donovan Jackson does a good job of picking up Micah Parsons and there is plenty of room to make the throw. The Packers run a pressure where the DTs drop back but Jefferson is one-on-one running an out route, which should be easy money. The receiver slips a bit at the top of the route, potentially making the throw look worse than it was, but it still comes nowhere close. On the end zone view, it looks like he’s trying to guide the ball rather than throwing it smoothly.

It’s unfortunate that the throw wasn’t on point because McCarthy did a good job of moving up in the pocket.